FY2024 EPS Estimates for Ecolab Raised by Seaport Res Ptn

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report released on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $6.65 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $6.57. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.54 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.07 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.61 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.62 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Trading Down 2.7 %

ECL stock opened at $245.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $159.15 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 43,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,074,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,005,000 after purchasing an additional 16,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Ecolab by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 8,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. 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.