Brokerages forecast that US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) will announce sales of $159.30 million for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have issued estimates for US Ecology’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $162.00 million and the lowest is $156.60 million. US Ecology posted sales of $151.42 million in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 5.2%. The firm is expected to report its next earnings report on Thursday, November 7th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that US Ecology will report full year sales of $608.85 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $602.70 million to $615.00 million. For the next financial year, analysts anticipate that the company will report sales of $646.10 million, with estimates ranging from $640.20 million to $652.00 million. Zacks’ sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that that provide coverage for US Ecology.
US Ecology (NASDAQ:ECOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $155.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.60 million. US Ecology had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share.
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. BidaskClub lowered shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of US Ecology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.00.
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of US Ecology by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,188,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,841,000 after buying an additional 11,670 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of US Ecology by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,402,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,483,000 after buying an additional 13,644 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of US Ecology by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,305,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,759,000 after buying an additional 106,107 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of US Ecology by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 924,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,056,000 after buying an additional 163,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of US Ecology by 8,603.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,759,000 after buying an additional 593,695 shares during the last quarter. 85.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of NASDAQ ECOL traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 83,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,428. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.60. US Ecology has a one year low of $54.24 and a one year high of $75.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.56.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. US Ecology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.03%.
About US Ecology
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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