Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.4 %

Ecolab stock opened at $247.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $249.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $239.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler began coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.