Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Cut to $315.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has lowered its price target for Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 19.01% from its previous closing price.
• Other analysts have provided varying ratings, with Mizuho setting a target of $305.00 and Seaport Res Ptn upgrading to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive investor sentiment.
• Ecolab's recent earnings report highlighted a miss on forecasted earnings per share, coming in at $1.89, which is slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $320.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $290.71.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $260.80. The stock had a trading volume of 858,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,486. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $274.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $266.76 and its 200 day moving average is $256.47.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Ecolab by 202.6% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.