Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $243.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $232.00 to $243.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.16% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.65.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8 %

Ecolab stock opened at $226.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $64.83 billion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $224.51 and its 200 day moving average is $202.54. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $852,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 5,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 26,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,096,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 60,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,006,000 after buying an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Finally, Integrity Financial Corp WA bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 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.