Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Short Interest Up 33.0% in March

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, an increase of 33.0% from the March 15th total of 1,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $2.55 on Friday, hitting $238.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,409,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,721. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $217.27 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.58.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 40,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in Ecolab by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 42,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,690,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 17,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,316,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 45.1% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $240.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

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.