Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Short Interest Up 5.2% in August

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the August 15th total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.13 on Thursday, hitting $249.66. 166,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,111,357. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.56. Ecolab has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $253.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.30 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.