Ecolab Inc. (ECL) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $324.50.

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,381,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $578,923,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $495,109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $285.54 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $279.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $80.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.

Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.

The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.