Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.75-1.85 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.600-6.700 EPS.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.64. The company had a trading volume of 61,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,302. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $167.30 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $252.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% 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.