Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in US Ecology were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECOL. American Research & Management Co. bought a new stake in US Ecology in the second quarter worth $36,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 20.0% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of US Ecology in the first quarter valued at about $77,000. First Mercantile Trust Co. increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 13.5% in the second quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 1,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of US Ecology by 199.7% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
A number of research firms have issued reports on ECOL. BidaskClub cut shares of US Ecology from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of US Ecology from $63.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.67.
Shares of NASDAQ ECOL opened at $54.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. US Ecology Inc has a 52-week low of $54.24 and a 52-week high of $72.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.14. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66 and a beta of 0.53.
US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $167.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.25 million. US Ecology had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 13.61%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that US Ecology Inc will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. US Ecology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.03%.
US Ecology 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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