Seaport Res Ptn Has Negative Forecast for Ecolab Q1 Earnings

Key Points

• Seaport Res Ptn has lowered its Q1 2026 earnings per share estimate for Ecolab from $1.82 to $1.72, while the consensus estimate for full-year earnings is $7.54 per share.
• Ecolab's most recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.89, slightly below the expected $1.90, despite meeting revenue expectations of $4.03 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a payment date set for October 15th, reflecting a 1.0% dividend yield.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) - Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ecolab in a research report issued on Friday, September 5th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.82. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $7.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab's Q3 2026 earnings at $2.36 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.37 EPS.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

ECL opened at $273.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $77.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $272.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,467,000 after purchasing an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend 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.

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