Seaport Res Ptn Issues Negative Estimate for Ecolab Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.50 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.54. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.62 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s FY2026 earnings at $8.47 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.47.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $241.73 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $241.38 and a 200 day moving average of $245.62. The company has a market capitalization of $68.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $195.49 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.