Seaport Res Ptn Has Bearish Forecast for Ecolab Q3 Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn dropped their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Ecolab in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.32 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.36. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $7.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q4 2026 earnings at $2.32 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.47 EPS.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.14.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $258.27 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $271.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.89. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The stock has a market cap of $73.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 37.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.