Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Ecolab Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with twelve out of eighteen recommending a buy or strong buy.
• The average twelve-month price target for Ecolab is approximately $290.71, reflecting optimistic expectations from analysts.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, indicating an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $290.7143.

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew 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 buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $269.70 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $267.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.29. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $274.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $76.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

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.

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