UBS Group upgraded shares of US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm currently has $60.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $58.00.
ECOL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. ValuEngine cut shares of US Ecology from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. BidaskClub raised US Ecology from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Zacks Investment Research lowered US Ecology from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TheStreet cut US Ecology from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on US Ecology from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $66.00.
Shares of ECOL traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.20. The company had a trading volume of 387,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,415. US Ecology has a 1-year low of $40.94 and a 1-year high of $67.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.
US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $231.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.35 million. US Ecology had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 4.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that US Ecology will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.
In other news, Director Daniel Fox purchased 1,000 shares of US Ecology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.16 per share, with a total value of $43,160.00. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Mercantile Trust Co. grew its holdings in 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 worth $108,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in US Ecology by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of US Ecology by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 62,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of US Ecology by 1.2% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 6 Meridian grew its stake in shares of US Ecology by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. 6 Meridian now owns 9,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.
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.
Featured Article: Learning About the VIX – Volatility Index
Receive News & Ratings for US Ecology Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for US Ecology and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
