Royal Bank of Canada Increases Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $260.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $238.00 to $260.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $227.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.41. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $231.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $224.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.96. The firm has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.