What is William Blair’s Forecast for Ecolab FY2024 Earnings?

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – William Blair raised their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report issued on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now forecasts that the basic materials company will earn $6.65 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $6.60. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ecolab’s FY2025 earnings at $7.41 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.11 EPS.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $252.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a PE ratio of 42.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $159.15 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% 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.