US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) Sets New 52-Week Low at $53.43

Shares of US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $53.43 and last traded at $53.62, with a volume of 5893 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.37.

ECOL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $63.00 target price on US Ecology and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BidaskClub cut shares of US Ecology from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded shares of US Ecology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.68.

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. US Ecology had a return on equity of 13.61% and a net margin of 8.22%. The business had revenue of $167.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that US Ecology Inc will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. US Ecology’s payout ratio is 31.03%.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in US Ecology by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,402,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,483,000 after buying an additional 13,644 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of US Ecology by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 639,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,939 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of US Ecology by 8.2% during the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 483,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,884,000 after acquiring an additional 36,751 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of US Ecology by 128.6% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 415,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,591,000 after acquiring an additional 233,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of US Ecology during the third quarter valued at about $18,797,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

US Ecology Company Profile (NASDAQ:ECOL)

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.