Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $285.00 to $305.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Mizuho’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.05% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.0%

ECL opened at $267.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $264.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.67. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.