Ecolab (ECL) Competitors

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) and Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, community ranking and institutional ownership.

Is SHW or ECL a better dividend stock?

Sherwin-Williams pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ecolab pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Sherwin-Williams pays out 28.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ecolab pays out 36.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sherwin-Williams has raised its dividend for 47 consecutive years and Ecolab has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years.

Which has more volatility & risk, SHW or ECL?

Sherwin-Williams has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecolab has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend SHW or ECL?

Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus price target of $402.25, suggesting a potential upside of 13.64%. Ecolab has a consensus price target of $277.47, suggesting a potential upside of 16.76%. Given Ecolab's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ecolab is more favorable than Sherwin-Williams.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sherwin-Williams	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Ecolab	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in SHW or ECL?

77.7% of Sherwin-Williams shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.9% of Ecolab shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Sherwin-Williams shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Ecolab shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is SHW or ECL more profitable?

Ecolab has a net margin of 13.05% compared to Sherwin-Williams' net margin of 11.09%. Sherwin-Williams' return on equity of 74.45% beat Ecolab's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sherwin-Williams	11.09%	74.45%	11.97%
Ecolab	13.05%	22.12%	8.47%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SHW or ECL?

Sherwin-Williams received 142 more outperform votes than Ecolab when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.80% of users gave Ecolab an outperform vote while only 64.43% of users gave Sherwin-Williams an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Sherwin-Williams	Outperform Votes 895 64.43%	Underperform Votes 494 35.57%
Ecolab	Outperform Votes 753 64.80%	Underperform Votes 409 35.20%

Does the media favor SHW or ECL?

In the previous week, Ecolab had 1 more articles in the media than Sherwin-Williams. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Ecolab and 22 mentions for Sherwin-Williams. Ecolab's average media sentiment score of 1.29 beat Sherwin-Williams' score of 1.25 indicating that Ecolab is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sherwin-Williams	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ecolab	19 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, SHW or ECL?

Sherwin-Williams has higher revenue and earnings than Ecolab. Ecolab is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sherwin-Williams, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sherwin-Williams	$23.05B	3.87	$2.39B	$10.04	35.26
Ecolab	$15.32B	4.39	$1.37B	$7.13	33.33

Summary

Sherwin-Williams beats Ecolab on 15 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.