Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.13.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $159.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $131.04 and a 52-week high of $185.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.04. The company has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.98.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 4,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.95, for a total value of $717,631.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,423.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. United Bank raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 4,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,920,000 after purchasing an additional 10,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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Ecolab, Inc engages in the provision of products and services in the field of water, hygiene, and energy. It operates through the following segments: Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Energy & Life Science, and Other. The Global Industrial segment consists of the water, food and beverage, paper, and downstream operating segments.