Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $240.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.94% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $238.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.19.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $230.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $231.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.03 and a 200-day moving average of $193.38. The firm has a market cap of $66.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.