Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Updates Q4 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.75-1.85 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.600-6.700 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded down $2.72 on Tuesday, hitting $253.73. 538,175 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,028. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.28. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $157.59 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $72.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.26%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% 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.