Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Releases FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.420-7.620 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 7.490. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ecolab also updated its Q2 2025 guidance to 1.840-1.940 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $243.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $69.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $249.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.90. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $219.97 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Ecolab stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 164.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.