Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Updates Q4 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.750-1.850 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.810. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ecolab also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.600-6.700 EPS.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $1.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $255.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 723,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,060. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.28. The firm has a market cap of $72.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $157.59 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.