Q2 2023 EPS Estimates for Ecolab Inc. Lifted by Analyst (NYSE:ECL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 5th, 2023

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at William Blair increased their Q2 2023 earnings estimates for shares of Ecolab in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, May 2nd. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.18 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.14. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $4.95 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q4 2023 earnings at $1.41 EPS and FY2023 earnings at $4.89 EPS.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Ecolab from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $167.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Ecolab from $164.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.20.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $172.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $131.04 and a 1-year high of $179.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.28.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.50%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 4,404 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.95, for a total transaction of $717,631.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,423.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,054,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,185,126,000 after acquiring an additional 149,219 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Ecolab by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,510,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $802,069,000 after buying an additional 2,023,685 shares during the last quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust now owns 5,218,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $759,538,000 after purchasing an additional 351,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,547,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $660,505,000 after purchasing an additional 104,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management SA raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.4% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 3,747,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $537,746,000 after purchasing an additional 157,091 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ecolab

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Ecolab, Inc engages in the provision of products and services in the field of water, hygiene, and energy. It operates through the following segments: Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Energy & Life Science, and Other. The Global Industrial segment consists of the water, food and beverage, paper, and downstream operating segments.