Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 6.500-6.700 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 6.570. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ecolab also updated its FY24 guidance to $6.50-6.70 EPS.

Ecolab Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $18.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $229.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,371,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,203. The business has a fifty day moving average of $239.78 and a 200 day moving average of $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 has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $249.00. The company has a market capitalization of $65.41 billion, a PE ratio of 43.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11.

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. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James upped their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $244.06.

Insider Activity

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

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.