Brokerages forecast that US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) will report earnings per share of $0.75 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have made estimates for US Ecology’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.73 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.76. US Ecology reported earnings of $0.70 per share during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 7.1%. The business is scheduled to report its next earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that US Ecology will report full year earnings of $2.26 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.24 to $2.27. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the firm will post earnings of $2.62 per share. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for US Ecology.
US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. US Ecology had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 8.50%. 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 posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis.
ECOL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BidaskClub downgraded US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded US Ecology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECOL. American Research & Management Co. bought a new stake in US Ecology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in US Ecology by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in US Ecology during the 1st quarter valued at $77,000. First Mercantile Trust Co. boosted its position in US Ecology by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 1,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of US Ecology by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.04% of the company’s stock.
Shares of ECOL opened at $62.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 0.56. US Ecology has a one year low of $54.24 and a one year high of $75.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.10.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. US Ecology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.03%.
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.
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