Ecolab (ECL) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) will likely be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, February 11th. Analysts expect Ecolab to post earnings of $1.81 per share and revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter. Individual interested in registering for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.0 %

Ecolab stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $249.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,068,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,918. The stock's fifty day moving average is $241.85 and its 200 day moving average is $245.93. 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 1-year low of $200.50 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.60.

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.