Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ecolab shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $310 and closing recently at $308.08, up 1.6%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.58, with Citigroup raising its target to $345.
• Ecolab’s latest quarterly results met EPS expectations at $2.18, while revenue rose 12.7% year over year to $4.69 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, yielding approximately 0.9%.

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $310.00 and last traded at $308.0790, with a volume of 148,355 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $302.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.58.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.6%

The company's 50-day moving average is $282.01 and its 200 day moving average is $276.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $86.37 billion, a PE ratio of 41.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.18. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The company's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $244,381,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $578,923,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $495,109,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $413,381,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.

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