Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $309.27 and last traded at $307.5760, with a volume of 87417 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $305.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $279.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 7.5% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 7,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.