Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Forecasted to Earn Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.64 Per Share

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Ecolab in a research note issued on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.64 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.59. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.58 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.80 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $6.53 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.50 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $233.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $233.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.50. The stock has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 26.8% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.9% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 38,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 65.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 474,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,583,000 after acquiring an additional 188,455 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently 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.