Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $265.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $267.00.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ECL. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $249.13.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $237.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $67.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $249.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $239.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.