Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Issues Q3 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.75-1.85 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.80. Ecolab also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.500-6.700 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $244.06.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $247.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $249.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $239.78 and its 200-day moving average is $226.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, 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.