Citigroup Increases Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $325.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $285.00 to $325.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.01% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ECL. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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 cut their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $273.08 on Thursday. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $220.96 and a 1 year high of $274.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.68.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.