Short Interest in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Drops By 17.6%

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a drop of 17.6% from the April 30th total of 3,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $267.39. 892,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,107. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $75.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $248.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,001 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,014,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 73,393 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,197,000 after acquiring an additional 3,751 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 643,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $150,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

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.