Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $324.0556.

A number of brokerages have commented on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1,167.3% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,571,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of ECL opened at $263.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.16. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

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.