Ecolab Inc. to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.64 Per Share, Seaport Res Ptn Forecasts (NYSE:ECL)

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

ECL opened at $233.34 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $234.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $225.01 and a 200-day moving average of $204.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Barings LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $5,884,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 349.9% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 38,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,814,000 after acquiring an additional 29,687 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ecolab by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 53,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,277,000 after acquiring an additional 6,842 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.4% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 24.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.