321,122 Shares in Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) Acquired by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 321,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,581,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Ecovyst as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECVT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ecovyst by 11.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,795,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,473 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecovyst by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,661,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,084,000 after acquiring an additional 66,310 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ecovyst by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,824,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,904,000 after acquiring an additional 266,615 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,410,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,881,000 after buying an additional 231,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brigade Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brigade Capital Management LP now owns 917,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after buying an additional 124,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECVT shares. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Ecovyst in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecovyst from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan F. Ward sold 24,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.28, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

Shares of ECVT opened at $9.09 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $9.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.65. Ecovyst Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.26 and a 12-month high of $12.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $160.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.56 million. Ecovyst had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 10.83%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

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.