US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.61 Per Share

Wall Street analysts expect US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) to report earnings of $0.61 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have provided estimates for US Ecology’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.57 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.64. US Ecology posted earnings per share of $0.65 in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year over year growth rate of 6.2%. The company is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Thursday, February 20th.

On average, analysts expect that US Ecology will report full year earnings of $2.20 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.19 to $2.20. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the company will post earnings of $2.23 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.00 to $2.46. Zacks’ EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of research firms that follow US Ecology.

US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $167.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. US Ecology had a return on equity of 13.61% and a net margin of 8.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECOL. ValuEngine downgraded US Ecology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BidaskClub downgraded US Ecology from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on US Ecology from $63.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 483,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,884,000 after acquiring an additional 36,751 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 510.3% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 12,338 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 62,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after acquiring an additional 19,347 shares during the period. First Mercantile Trust Co. increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 1,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 55,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. 89.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of ECOL stock opened at $55.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.91. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. US Ecology has a 12-month low of $53.48 and a 12-month high of $70.48.

About US Ecology

US Ecology, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides environmental services to commercial and government entities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates through two segments, Environmental Services, and Field & Industrial Services. The Environmental Services segment offers hazardous material management services, including transportation, recycling, treatment, and disposal of hazardous, non-hazardous, and radioactive waste at its landfill, wastewater, deep-well injection, and other treatment facilities.