Seaport Res Ptn Has Weak Outlook for Ecolab FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Seaport Res Ptn analysts lowered their FY2025 EPS estimate for Ecolab to $7.52 from $7.56, while maintaining a "Strong-Buy" rating.
• Ecolab reported Q2 earnings of $1.89 per share, slightly missing analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue meeting forecasts at $4.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a 0.99% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 35.33%.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ecolab in a report issued on Tuesday, July 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $7.52 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $7.56. Seaport Res Ptn currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $7.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab's Q4 2025 earnings at $2.07 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $260.80. 858,978 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,140,486. The business's 50-day moving average price is $266.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.44. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 35,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,781 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

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.