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Ecolab Inc (ECL) is a leading specialty chemicals business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$227.51 after a previous close of US$226.92. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD225.07 to a high of USD227.97. The latest price was USD225.14 (25 minute delay). Ecolab is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.
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| Open | US$227.51 |
|---|---|
| High | US$227.97 |
| Low | US$225.07 |
| Close | US$225.14 |
| Previous close | US$226.92 |
| Change | US$-1.78 |
| Change % | -0.7844% |
| Volume | 980,180 |
| 52-week range | US$179.666 - US$230.7586 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | US$219.9526 |
| 200-day moving average | US$217.9554 |
| Target price | US$231.88 |
| PE ratio | 60.4474 |
| Dividend yield | US$1.91 (0.87%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | US$3.643 |
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Use the fields above to explore the returns from a historical investment. Please refer to the charts further up this page to see performance over 5 years, or other periods. Past performance doesn't indicate future results. Capital is at risk.
Historical closes compared with the last close of $225.14
| 1 week (2021-10-07) | 4.01% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2021-09-17) | 3.11% |
| 3 months (2021-07-16) | 4.58% |
| 6 months (2021-04-16) | 0.89% |
| 1 year (2020-10-16) | 10.08% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2019-10-17) | 16.03% |
| 3 years (2018-10-17) | 51.59% |
| 5 years (2016-10-17) | 93.52% |
Valuing Ecolab stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Ecolab's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Ecolab's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 60x. In other words, Ecolab shares trade at around 60x recent earnings.
That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.
Ecolab's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.1652. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Ecolab's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Ecolab's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$2.6 billion (£1.9 billion).
The EBITDA is a measure of a Ecolab's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
| Revenue TTM | US$12.1 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 14.81% |
| Gross profit TTM | US$4.9 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 6.13% |
| Return on equity TTM | 16.86% |
| Profit margin | 8.66% |
| Book value | 23.451 |
| Market capitalisation | US$63 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
There are currently 2.2 million Ecolab shares held short by investors – that's known as Ecolab's "short interest". This figure is 11% down from 2.4 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Ecolab shares can be evaluated.
Ecolab's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Ecolab shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Ecolab shares traded daily (recently around 981218.46846847). Ecolab's SIR currently stands at 2.22. In other words for every 100,000 Ecolab shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2220 shares are currently held short.
However Ecolab's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Ecolab shares, or, against the total number of tradable Ecolab shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Ecolab's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Ecolab shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0086% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Ecolab shares, roughly 9 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Ecolab.
Find out more about how you can short Ecolab stock.
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Ecolab.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Total ESG risk: 25.82
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Ecolab's overall score of 25.82 (as at 12/31/2018) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 42nd percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Ecolab is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Environmental score: 7.58/100
Ecolab's environmental score of 7.58 puts it squarely in the 1st percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Ecolab is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Social score: 7.64/100
Ecolab's social score of 7.64 puts it squarely in the 1st percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Ecolab is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Governance score: 3.09/100
Ecolab's governance score puts it squarely in the 1st percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Ecolab is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Controversy score: 2/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Ecolab scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Ecolab has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.
Ecolab Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 25.82 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 41.75 |
| Environmental score | 7.58 |
| Environmental score percentile | 1 |
| Social score | 7.64 |
| Social score percentile | 1 |
| Governance score | 3.09 |
| Governance score percentile | 1 |
| Level of controversy | 2 |
Dividend payout ratio: 43.54% of net profits
Recently Ecolab has paid out, on average, around 43.54% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.87% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Ecolab shareholders could enjoy a 0.87% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Ecolab's case, that would currently equate to about $1.91 per share.
While Ecolab's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that Ecolab may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.
Ecolab's most recent dividend payout was on 14 October 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 12 September 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").
Ecolab's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 8 June 2003. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Ecolab shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Ecolab shares which in turn could have impacted Ecolab's share price.
Over the last 12 months, Ecolab's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$179.666 up to US$230.7586. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Ecolab's is 1.019. This would suggest that Ecolab's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).
Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services worldwide. Its 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, and petrochemical industries. The company's Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. Its Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. The company's Other segment offers pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, educational and healthcare facilities, hotels, quick service restaurant and grocery operations, and other institutional and commercial customers. This segment also provides colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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