Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $306.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $244.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.79. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $167.30 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $69.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $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.