Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $295.00 to $305.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8 %

ECL opened at $269.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $248.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 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.