Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Short Interest Up 5.2% in August

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the August 15th total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ECL stock traded up $0.74 on Thursday, reaching $249.27. 128,424 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $244.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.56. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $253.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $749,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 84.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,098,000 after acquiring an additional 6,137 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in Ecolab by 527.9% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 87,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,438,000 after purchasing an additional 73,913 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,128,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $223,933,000 after acquiring an additional 62,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 50.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.73.

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.