Ecolab (ECL) Competitors

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) and Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) 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 profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Is ECL or SHW a better dividend stock?

Ecolab pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Sherwin-Williams pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab pays out 35.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sherwin-Williams pays out 29.9% 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. Ecolab has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Sherwin-Williams has raised its dividend for 48 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate ECL or SHW?

Ecolab currently has a consensus target price of $283.13, indicating a potential upside of 5.83%. Sherwin-Williams has a consensus target price of $391.31, indicating a potential upside of 13.09%. Given Sherwin-Williams' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sherwin-Williams is more favorable than Ecolab.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecolab	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82
Sherwin-Williams	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.72

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ECL or SHW?

74.9% of Ecolab shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Sherwin-Williams shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ecolab shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Sherwin-Williams shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor ECL or SHW?

In the previous week, Sherwin-Williams had 6 more articles in the media than Ecolab. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for Sherwin-Williams and 26 mentions for Ecolab. Ecolab's average media sentiment score of 1.53 beat Sherwin-Williams' score of 1.44 indicating that Ecolab is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ecolab	24 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Sherwin-Williams	27 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ECL or SHW?

Ecolab has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sherwin-Williams has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, ECL or SHW?

Sherwin-Williams has higher revenue and earnings than Ecolab. Sherwin-Williams is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ecolab, 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
Ecolab	$15.74B	4.82	$2.11B	$7.36	36.35
Sherwin-Williams	$23.10B	3.75	$2.68B	$10.58	32.71

Is ECL or SHW more profitable?

Ecolab has a net margin of 13.41% compared to Sherwin-Williams' net margin of 11.63%. Sherwin-Williams' return on equity of 71.86% beat Ecolab's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecolab	13.41%	22.53%	8.82%
Sherwin-Williams	11.63%	71.86%	12.05%

Summary

Sherwin-Williams beats Ecolab on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.