US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) Upgraded at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday, 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. “

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ECOL. 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. ValuEngine lowered shares of US Ecology from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BidaskClub lowered shares of US Ecology from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

NASDAQ:ECOL traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,820. US Ecology has a 1 year low of $53.48 and a 1 year high of $67.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.12 and a 200-day moving average of $60.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95 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.

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

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 16th. US Ecology’s payout ratio is 31.03%.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 377.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 60,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 48,203 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 1.2% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $40,901,000 after buying an additional 5,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 233,941 shares during the last quarter. 89.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.