Research Analysts Set Expectations for Ecolab Q1 Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – William Blair issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ecolab in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.48 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.97 EPS.

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

ECL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE ECL opened at $253.76 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.50. The stock has a market cap of $72.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.58, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $157.59 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.26%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab 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 approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $74,000. Northeast Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 5,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 28,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,174,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 0.3% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 71,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,286,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.