Q2 2024 Earnings Estimate for Ecolab Inc. Issued By Seaport Res Ptn (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report issued on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.64 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.59. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $6.58 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.80 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $6.53 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.50 EPS.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ECL. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.23. 1,449,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,213,236. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $234.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $66.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $225.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,635,000 after purchasing an additional 37,167 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership boosted its position in Ecolab by 526.2% during the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,298,000 after buying an additional 47,863 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $35,040,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.