Stifel Nicolaus Raises Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $233.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $225.00 to $233.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of Ecolab from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $227.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coulter & Justus Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $11,175,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 4.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 5.3% during the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $1,281,000. 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.