Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ecolab in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.75 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.73. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $6.58 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab's Q2 2025 earnings at $1.87 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS.
A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ECL. Piper Sandler began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.88.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ECL
Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %
ECL traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $233.58. The stock had a trading volume of 721,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,207,771. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $234.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $225.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.71.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Ecolab Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab
In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Ecolab
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in 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 raised its holdings in Ecolab by 526.2% in the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,298,000 after acquiring an additional 47,863 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $35,040,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Ecolab
(
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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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