Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.69 and last traded at $9.6750, with a volume of 623933 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ECVT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ecovyst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup increased their target price on Ecovyst from $8.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Ecovyst from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecovyst from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Ecovyst from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecovyst presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.60.

Ecovyst Stock Up 0.8%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.39, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.25.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $204.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.74 million. Ecovyst had a positive return on equity of 8.93% and a negative net margin of 14.34%. Research analysts forecast that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecovyst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECVT. Creative Planning increased its position in Ecovyst by 4.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ecovyst by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 63.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 69,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares during the last quarter. 86.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets performance-enhancing products for industrial applications. The company’s core offerings include catalysts, phosphorus-based additives and barium carbonate materials, all designed to improve process efficiency, product quality and environmental performance. Ecovyst serves a diverse customer base in the energy, refining, chemical, polymer, food and consumer goods industries.

The company’s Catalysts segment supplies fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydroprocessing catalysts that help petroleum refiners maximize fuel yield, reduce sulfur emissions and meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.