Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Coverage Initiated at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Research analysts at Erste Group Bank initiated coverage of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) with a "buy" rating, indicating positive expectations for the company's stock performance.
• Ecolab currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $292.29.
• Recent insider trading saw an SVP sell 807 shares, while a director bought 600 shares, reflecting mixed signals on insider sentiment regarding the company's stock.

Research analysts at Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on ECL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.29.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE ECL opened at $270.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $274.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Mirabaud & Cie SA lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $284,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,189.2% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 144,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,606,000 after acquiring an additional 133,192 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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.