Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Stock Price Up 8.4% After Insider Buying Activity

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) shares were up 8.4% during trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $6.74 and last traded at $6.74. Approximately 162,060 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 804,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.22.

Specifically, insider Joseph S. Koscinski acquired 4,807 shares of Ecovyst stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.26 per share, with a total value of $30,091.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 544,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,409,252.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECVT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecovyst from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. BWS Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ecovyst from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Ecovyst from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.49. The stock has a market cap of $789.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). Ecovyst had a return on equity of 7.93% and a net margin of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $182.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ecovyst by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,649,000 after acquiring an additional 221,979 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II Joint Venture raised its holdings in Ecovyst by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II Joint Venture now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecovyst in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,581,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Ecovyst by 58.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 521,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 191,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brigade Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Ecovyst by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brigade Capital Management LP now owns 917,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after acquiring an additional 124,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.