Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $305.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.27.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $231.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $244.31 and its 200-day moving average is $245.92. The stock has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $262.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several 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 about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 2,188.9% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.