StockNews.com Upgrades Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) to “Buy”

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ECL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $254.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $253.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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.