Seaport Res Ptn Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for Ecolab in a note issued to investors on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.64 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate 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.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $216.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $233.58 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $225.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.71. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $234.68. The stock has a market cap of $66.70 billion, a PE ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.