Zacks Research Downgrades Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) to Strong Sell

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Montrose Environmental Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Montrose Environmental Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.67.

Montrose Environmental Group Price Performance

ONT opened at $22.13 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.20 and a 200 day moving average of $24.34. Montrose Environmental Group has a 52-week low of $14.87 and a 52-week high of $32.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $800.44 million, a P/E ratio of -92.20, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.83.

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $193.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.24 million. Montrose Environmental Group had a positive return on equity of 4.47% and a negative net margin of 0.10%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.90) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Montrose Environmental Group will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Montrose Environmental Group news, General Counsel Nasym Afsari sold 43,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $1,229,782.76. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 204,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,388.86. This trade represents a 17.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jose Revuelta sold 7,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $212,166.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 269,282 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,614. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 107,527 shares of company stock valued at $2,908,583. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ONT. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 2.5% during the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,764,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,513,000 after buying an additional 68,713 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,986,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,328,000 after acquiring an additional 57,437 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 128.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,733,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,030,000 after acquiring an additional 975,770 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,457,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,192,000 after acquiring an additional 179,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Montrose Environmental Group by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,346,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,470,000 after acquiring an additional 66,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.87% of the company’s stock.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE: MEG) is a global provider of environmental technical and monitoring services, delivering solutions for site assessment, remediation, compliance and long-term environmental stewardship. The company serves a broad range of industries, including energy, manufacturing, chemicals, mining and government agencies, supporting clients with risk management strategies, regulatory permitting and environmental permitting.

Montrose’s core offerings encompass environmental consulting, engineering design, field sampling and laboratory analysis, plus innovative digital monitoring platforms.