Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Short Interest Update

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the October 31st total of 1,760,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 978,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.87.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $248.73. 183,634 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,031. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.17 and its 200-day moving average is $245.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $188.80 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock worth $205,323,667 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.