Ecolab (ECL) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Tuesday

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) is scheduled to be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, April 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.33 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Ecolab to post $6 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $221.10 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.38. The company has a market capitalization of $63.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.16, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $231.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.47.

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.