Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,100,000 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the March 31st total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 766,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Ecovyst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECVT opened at $9.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.61. Ecovyst has a 12 month low of $8.26 and a 12 month high of $12.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.01.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). Ecovyst had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 10.30%. The company had revenue of $172.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ecovyst will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ecovyst news, Director Susan F. Ward sold 24,436 shares of Ecovyst stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.28, for a total value of $251,202.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,794.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECVT. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 229,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Ecovyst by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Ecovyst by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 43,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 5,729 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ecovyst by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 6,131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecovyst from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications.