Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Ecolab Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Ecolab in a report issued on Tuesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.78 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.75. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.61 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s FY2024 earnings at $6.57 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.93 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.57 EPS.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.13.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $237.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $239.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.90. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $249.00. The company has a market cap of $67.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 158.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 3,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.