Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ECVT. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Ecovyst to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.62.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

NYSE:ECVT opened at $9.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.05. Ecovyst has a 1-year low of $7.41 and a 1-year high of $15.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $249.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.54 million. Ecovyst had a positive return on equity of 13.83% and a negative net margin of 7.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Ecovyst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecovyst will post 0.60 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecovyst

In other Ecovyst news, Director Patti Humble purchased 24,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.05 per share, with a total value of $249,993.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,438.70. This represents a 273.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecovyst

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 701.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Ecovyst in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ecovyst during the first quarter worth approximately $77,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Ecovyst in the first quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the first quarter worth about $154,000. 86.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecovyst

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.