Ecolab Inc. (ECL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.73 on April 15th

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.73 per share by the basic materials company on Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th.

Ecolab has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 33 years. Ecolab has a dividend payout ratio of 34.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ecolab to earn $8.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:ECL opened at $304.07 on Friday. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $306.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ECL. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.76.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.