Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $306.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target increased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $260.00 to $306.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.18% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.73.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.98 during trading on Monday, hitting $252.52. 69,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,114,324. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $243.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $72.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.75, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $253.54.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.