Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $225.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $225.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.25% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ECL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $224.44. The stock had a trading volume of 176,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,207,486. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.21. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $231.86.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

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