Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $244.59. 604,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,085,859. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $167.30 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $252.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.