Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Ecolab Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 20 analysts, with 12 recommending a buy and 3 a strong buy.
• The average price target for Ecolab's stock is approximately $290.92, reflecting a positive outlook from investment analysts.
• Recently, Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.60 with a yield of 0.9%.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $290.9231.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $278.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $78.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.13, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.23.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the second quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,030,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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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