William Blair Has Optimistic Outlook of Ecolab Q4 Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Ecolab in a report released on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now anticipates that the basic materials company will earn $1.81 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.79. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.49 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS.

ECL has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $245.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $159.15 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $252.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.