What is William Blair's Forecast for Ecolab Q1 Earnings?

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at William Blair issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ecolab in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.48 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $6.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ecolab's Q2 2025 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.97 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.40.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $254.39. 307,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,028. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.50. The company has a market cap of $72.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.93, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $159.15 and a 12 month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its stake in Ecolab by 13.7% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 806 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,473,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 19,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Ecolab by 13.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 716,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $182,872,000 after buying an additional 87,209 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 38.26%.

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.