Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Position in Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,988,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,812 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 4.28% of Ecovyst worth $44,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECVT. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Ecovyst by 6,920.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecovyst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecovyst during the second quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecovyst during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Ecovyst Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ECVT opened at $6.50 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.88. Ecovyst Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.02 and a 1 year high of $11.35. The company has a market cap of $757.06 million, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). Ecovyst had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $182.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ecovyst

In related news, insider Joseph S. Koscinski purchased 4,807 shares of Ecovyst stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $30,091.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 544,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,409,252.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph S. Koscinski bought 4,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.26 per share, with a total value of $30,091.82. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 544,609 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,252.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul Whittleston purchased 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.50 per share, with a total value of $50,700.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 57,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,023. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BWS Financial reduced their price objective on Ecovyst from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Ecovyst from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ecovyst from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th.

Ecovyst 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.