FY2026 EPS Estimates for Ecolab Cut by Erste Group Bank

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Ecolab in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $8.15 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.24. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $8.13 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Ecolab’s FY2027 earnings at $9.40 EPS.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS.

ECL has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $272.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $264.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.03. The stock has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after acquiring an additional 19,324 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.