Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Stock Price Up 8.7%

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) traded up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.57 and last traded at $10.34. 356,625 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 721,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecovyst from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.96 and a 200-day moving average of $9.62.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). Ecovyst had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $172.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ecovyst news, Director Susan F. Ward sold 24,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.28, for a total value of $251,202.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,794.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecovyst

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecovyst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecovyst in the third quarter valued at about $88,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 27.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecovyst during the third quarter worth about $147,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ecovyst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications.