Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Ecolab’s Q4 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ecolab in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.80 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.77. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q4 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $245.70 on Friday. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $159.15 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 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.