Seaport Res Ptn Has Positive Estimate for Ecolab Q2 Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Ecolab in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 12th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will earn $1.92 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.90. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.64 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.51 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.49 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $265.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $243.29 and a 200 day moving average of $246.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $213.94 and a fifty-two week high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

About Ecolab

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.