Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Announces Earnings Results

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.00. 646,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,058. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $252.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $167.30 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

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.