Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Short Interest Update

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) saw a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the July 31st total of 1,830,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.1 %

ECL stock opened at $247.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $241.81 and a 200 day moving average of $233.47. The firm has a market cap of $70.55 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $253.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $951,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 768,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $182,966,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $224,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Ecolab by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 66,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,766,000 after buying an additional 9,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 382,174 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,245 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

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.