Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Shares Climb 7.9% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) traded up 7.9% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $11.07 and last traded at $10.7550. 1,327,827 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 1,650,765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.97.

The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Ecovyst had a positive return on equity of 13.83% and a negative net margin of 7.05%. The company had revenue of $308.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.45 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 50.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ECVT. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecovyst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ecovyst in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Ecovyst in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecovyst currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecovyst news, Director Patti Humble purchased 24,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.05 per share, for a total transaction of $249,993.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $341,438.70. This represents a 273.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecovyst

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ecovyst by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 34,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,507 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecovyst by 701.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Ecovyst in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Ecovyst in the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ecovyst by 27.5% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 7,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Ecovyst Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.31, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc (NYSE: ECVT) is a global provider of specialty catalysts and advanced materials used in industrial and environmental applications. The company develops, manufactures and supplies products that help customers improve process efficiency, increase yields and meet emissions and sustainability requirements.

Through its Catalysts Technologies business, Ecovyst provides catalysts and related services for petroleum refining, renewable fuels, petrochemicals and other chemical processes.