Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for Ecolab Q4 Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Equities research analysts at William Blair boosted their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ecolab in a research report issued on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.81 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.79. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.49 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.7 %

Ecolab stock opened at $245.70 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $159.15 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.61. The company has a market cap of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $2,997,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,880,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.