Brokers Set Expectations for Ecolab’s Q3 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Seaport Res Ptn increased their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report released on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $2.08 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.07. Seaport Res Ptn 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 Q1 2026 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.31 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.62 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.47.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0 %

ECL opened at $255.14 on Friday. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $248.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.