Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Ecolab Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report issued on Tuesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will earn $1.78 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.75. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.61 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s FY2024 earnings at $6.57 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.93 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.57 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.13.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $237.19 on Thursday. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $249.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $239.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $67.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. 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.