Short Interest in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Decreases By 10.4%

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a decrease of 10.4% from the August 31st total of 1,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 998,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 23.0% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $1,137,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 71.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 735 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,382,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $951,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.59. The stock had a trading volume of 772,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,496. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.02. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $256.59. The company has a market capitalization of $72.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.43.

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.