Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE ECL opened at $264.05 on Monday. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $265.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 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.