Seaport Res Ptn Issues Negative Outlook for Ecolab Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $6.64 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $6.65. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.79 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.45 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.47.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ECL opened at $242.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $195.49 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $241.38 and a 200-day moving average of $245.62.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,851,000 after acquiring an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,250,000 after acquiring an additional 8,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 36.47%.

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.