Analysts Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Price Target at $244.06

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $249.13.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,635,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its stake in Ecolab by 526.2% during the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,298,000 after purchasing an additional 47,863 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $237.20 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $239.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.30. The company has a market cap of $67.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $249.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.