Short Interest in CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) Expands By 10.0%

CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,210,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the December 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 289,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.6 days. Approximately 7.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CECO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in CECO Environmental by 15.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 38,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 5,107 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of CECO Environmental by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 99,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 28,960 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in CECO Environmental during the second quarter worth approximately $11,857,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in CECO Environmental in the second quarter worth approximately $15,495,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CECO Environmental by 95.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 124,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,597,000 after buying an additional 60,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of CECO Environmental from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. HC Wainwright lowered CECO Environmental from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on CECO Environmental from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their target price on CECO Environmental from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.20.

CECO Environmental Price Performance

Shares of CECO traded down $2.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,752,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 89.70, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.43. CECO Environmental has a 12 month low of $18.50 and a 12 month high of $35.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.62.

CECO Environmental (NASDAQ:CECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.05). CECO Environmental had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $135.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that CECO Environmental will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

About CECO Environmental

CECO Environmental Corp. provides critical solutions in industrial air quality, industrial water treatment, and energy transition solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments: Engineered Systems and Industrial Process Solutions. The company engineers, designs, manufactures, and installs non-metallic expansion joints and flow control products, including rubber expansion joints, ducting expansion joints, and industrial pinch and duck bill valves; membrane-based industrial water and wastewater treatment systems; and provides dust and fume extraction solutions comprising consultation, design, manufacturing, installation, and service, as well as water and wastewater treatment solutions.