Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Short Interest Update

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the October 31st total of 1,760,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 978,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $0.56 on Wednesday, reaching $248.73. 183,634 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,031. Ecolab has a one year low of $188.80 and a one year high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock worth $205,323,667. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

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.