Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $244.49. The stock had a trading volume of 932,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,406. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.61. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $167.30 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $69.57 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

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.