Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $337.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.68% from the stock’s current price.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho set a $335.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.53.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $9.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $263.95. The company had a trading volume of 359,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,420. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $262.50 and its 200 day moving average is $271.41. The company has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.