Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Rating Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $380.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $315.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ECL. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $309.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.49 and a 200 day moving average of $277.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.85. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $318.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.18. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $308.12 per share, with a total value of $184,872.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,225 shares in the company, valued at $8,080,447. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 42.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,447,000 after acquiring an additional 9,151 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 70.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 285,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,383,000 after acquiring an additional 117,730 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 17.9% in the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 37,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,674 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.9% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 224,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,706,000 after acquiring an additional 16,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 31.6% in the third quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab News Summary

These are some of the ECL news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Ecolab from Equal Weight to Overweight and raised its price target to $380 from $315—about 23% above the cited share price. The firm highlighted the CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions and potential to benefit from AI data-center cooling needs. This water technology stock is set to get a big boost from AI, says Wells Fargo Ecolab upgraded at Wells Fargo, touting CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares for roughly $184,900 at an average price of $308.12, increasing his holdings by 2.34%. Insider buying can signal confidence in the company’s prospects. Ecolab Director David Maclennan Acquires 600 Shares

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency. The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.