Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $244.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 932,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,406. 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 $69.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $167.30 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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.