Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $270.00 to $275.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.26% from the stock’s current price.

ECL has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.31.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $2.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.71. The stock had a trading volume of 291,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,952. The firm has a market cap of $78.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $264.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $269.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waycross Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 98,736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,920,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 22,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,878,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1,375.0% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.