Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives $322.53 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $322.5294.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Mizuho set a $335.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Trading LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $245,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,676,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $290,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Ecolab by 28.9% during the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 46,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Grp LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 256.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $258.60 on Thursday. Ecolab has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $261.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.