Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the September 30th total of 2,020,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 947,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 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 acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.5% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 43,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,074,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,005,000 after purchasing an additional 16,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 8,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $6.90 on Thursday, hitting $245.70. 1,987,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,088,143. The company has a 50 day moving average of $252.69 and a 200 day moving average of $241.61. The stock has a market cap of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $159.15 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during 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%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

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.