US Ecology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOL – Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, a growth of 58.7% from the February 13th total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 717,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 8.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.
Shares of ECOL traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.39. 393,795 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,014. US Ecology has a 12-month low of $26.26 and a 12-month high of $48.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 296.21 and a beta of 0.88.
US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.12). US Ecology had a return on equity of 1.89% and a net margin of 0.54%. The firm had revenue of $261.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.28 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that US Ecology will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECOL shares. Zacks Investment Research raised US Ecology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 3rd. UBS Group downgraded US Ecology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded US Ecology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.67.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECOL. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of US Ecology by 287.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,989,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475,471 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of US Ecology by 112.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,411,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of US Ecology by 5,154.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 711,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,008,000 after purchasing an additional 697,718 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of US Ecology during the 4th quarter worth about $8,221,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of US Ecology by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,086,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,136,000 after acquiring an additional 173,882 shares in the last quarter. 92.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
US Ecology Company Profile (Get Rating)
US Ecology, Inc engages in the provision of environmental services to commercial and government entities. It operates through the following segments: Waste Solutions, Field Services, and Energy Waste. The Waste Solutions segment includes a range of specialty material management services including transportation, recycling, treatment and disposal of hazardous, non-hazardous, E&P and radioactive waste at company-owned landfill, wastewater, deep-well injection, and other treatment facilities.
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