Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Lifted to “Buy” at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $283.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $233.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Raymond James raised their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.44.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $243.27 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $69.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.05, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $245.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.