Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:ONT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.13, but opened at $18.17. Montrose Environmental Group shares last traded at $18.92, with a volume of 117,056 shares.

The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $203.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.10 million. Montrose Environmental Group had a positive return on equity of 4.11% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ONT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Montrose Environmental Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America lowered Montrose Environmental Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays lowered shares of Montrose Environmental Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $19.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Montrose Environmental Group from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $17.50.

Institutional Trading of Montrose Environmental Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 41.9% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 4,493 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Montrose Environmental Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 3,733.3% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,346,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,470,000 after buying an additional 66,543 shares in the last quarter. 87.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Montrose Environmental Group Stock Up 17.7%

The stock has a market cap of $666.58 million, a P/E ratio of -57.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.26.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc is an environmental services company that helps industrial, commercial, government and other organizations address environmental compliance, sustainability and risk-management needs. Its services span the full project life cycle, from environmental assessment and permitting to monitoring, remediation and ongoing compliance support.

The company provides air quality and emissions testing, environmental laboratory services, consulting, engineering, water and waste management, environmental health and safety support, and remediation services.