US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Investment Research

US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “US Ecology, Inc., formerly known as American Ecology Corporation, provides radioactive, PCB, hazardous, and non-hazardous waste services to commercial and government customers throughout the United States. The Company operates through its subsidiaries and provides its services to steel mills, medical and academic institutions, refineries, chemical manufacturing facilities and the nuclear power industry. Its subsidiaries include US Ecology Nevada, Inc., US Ecology Washington, Inc., US Ecology Texas, Inc., US Ecology Idaho, Inc., and US Ecology Field Services, Inc. The Company operates through two business segments: operating disposal facilities and non-operating disposal facilities. US Ecology, Inc. is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. “

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ECOL. BidaskClub cut shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. ValuEngine raised shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $63.00 price objective on shares of US Ecology and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Shares of ECOL stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $60.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,709. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.18. US Ecology has a fifty-two week low of $54.24 and a fifty-two week high of $72.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $167.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.25 million. US Ecology had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 13.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that US Ecology will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Research & Management Co. bought a new stake in US Ecology during the second quarter worth about $36,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 20.0% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of US Ecology during the first quarter worth approximately $77,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 27.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Mercantile Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 13.5% during the second quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 1,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 85.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

US Ecology Company Profile

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.