Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $225.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of Ecolab from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $233.65.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $224.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $64.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.37. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.49 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.