Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $234.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $227.00 to $234.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.08% from the company’s previous close.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $216.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.59.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $1.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $224.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 314,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,068. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $231.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.21. The firm has a market cap of $64.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.