Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Ecolab’s Q3 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Ecolab in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.32 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.36. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $7.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q4 2026 earnings at $2.32 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.47 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.14.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $257.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.01 and a 200 day moving average of $266.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 428,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,652,000 after purchasing an additional 12,465 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth $80,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its position in Ecolab by 6.0% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 18,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,666,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.