Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) will post sales of $3.40 billion for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Seven analysts have issued estimates for Ecolab’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $3.43 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $3.38 billion. Ecolab posted sales of $3.32 billion during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 2.4%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings report before the market opens on Tuesday, August 1st.
On average, analysts expect that Ecolab will report full-year sales of $3.40 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $13.53 billion to $13.74 billion. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will post sales of $14.23 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $14.10 billion to $14.39 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that follow Ecolab.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS.
Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $141.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Instinet upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “reduce” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $118.00 in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Nomura upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “reduce” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $118.00 in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Finally, J P Morgan Chase & Co upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $138.00 in a report on Friday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.79.
Ecolab (ECL) traded up 0.2118% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $132.4499. 411,134 shares of the stock traded hands. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.33 and its 200 day moving average is $125.10. The company has a market cap of $38.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.2898 and a beta of 0.98. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $110.65 and a 12 month high of $134.89.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 20th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 16th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.91%.
In related news, EVP Stephen M. Taylor sold 23,151 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.06, for a total value of $3,080,472.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,916,645.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bruno Lavandier sold 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.52, for a total transaction of $133,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,810 shares of company stock worth $5,897,361 in the last three months. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Dynamic Advisors Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisors Solutions LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $134,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in Ecolab by 269.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 191,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,964,000 after buying an additional 139,434 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.7% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 286,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,155,000 after buying an additional 15,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank boosted its stake in Ecolab by 6.7% in the first quarter. Bell Bank now owns 4,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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Ecolab Company Profile
Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene and energy technologies and services. The Company’s cleaning and sanitizing programs and products, pest elimination services and equipment maintenance and repair services support customers in the foodservice, food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, government and education, retail, textile care and commercial facilities management sectors in over 170 countries.
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