Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $295.1429.

Several analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.4%

ECL stock opened at $258.38 on Friday. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $268.76 and a 200-day moving average of $267.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 1,177.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.