Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Releases Q4 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.75-1.85 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.600-6.700 EPS.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $253.40. The stock had a trading volume of 488,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,890. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $159.15 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $252.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.50. The stock has a market cap of $72.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.