Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.

How to buy Ecolab (ECL) shares in Australia

Learn how to easily invest in Ecolab shares.

Ecolab Inc (ECL) is a leading specialty chemicals business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$191.66 after a previous close of US$191.73. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD191.14 to a high of USD193.15. The latest price was USD192.4 (25 minute delay). Ecolab is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in Ecolab

  1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a company listed in the US from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. Look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
  2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, which will typically include your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
  3. Search for Ecolab. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: ECL. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment that matches your financial goals.
  4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Ecolab reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying using consistent intervals and amounts.
  5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$191.73, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Ecolab, depending on your broker.
  6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Ecolab. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights.

Ecolab stock price (NYSE:ECL)

Use our graph to track the performance of ECL stocks over time.

Have Ecolab's shares ever split?

Ecolab's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 9 June 2003. So if you had owned 1 share the day before the split, the next day you would own 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.

Ecolab shares at a glance

Information last updated 2023-12-01.
OpenUS$191.66
HighUS$193.15
LowUS$191.14
CloseUS$192.4
Previous closeUS$191.73
Change US$0.67
Change % 0.3494%
Volume 1,092,273
Information last updated 2023-11-26.
52-week rangeUS$138.8287 - US$190.8399
50-day moving average US$171.2992
200-day moving average US$172.5098
Target priceUS$194.84
PE ratio 43.4432
Dividend yield US$2.12 (1.13%)
Earnings per share (TTM) US$4.31

Ecolab share growth calculator

US$

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.

Ecolab price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $192.4

1 week (2023-11-22) 3.08%
1 month (2023-11-02) 12.44%
3 months (2023-09-01) 5.31%
6 months (2023-06-02) 11.15%
1 year (2022-12-02) 27.11%
2 years (2021-12-02) -14.36%
3 years (2020-12-03) -12.45%
5 years (2018-12-03) 20.61%

Compare trading platforms to buy Ecolab shares

1 - 6 of 6
Name Product Standard brokerage for US shares Currency conversion fee Asset class
eToro
Finder AwardExclusive
eToro
US$0
50-150 pips
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, ETFs
CFD service. Capital at risk.
Finder exclusive: Get 12 months of investment tracking app Delta PRO for free when you fund your eToro account (T&Cs apply).
Join the world’s biggest social trading network when you trade stocks, commodities and currencies from the one account.
IG Share Trading
Finder Award
IG Share Trading
US$0
0.70%
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, UK shares, ETFs
$0 brokerage for US and global shares plus get an active trader discount of $5 commission on Australian shares.
Enjoy some of the lowest brokerage fees on the market when trading Australian and international shares, plus get access to 24-hour customer support.
Moomoo Share Trading
US$0.99
55 pips or 0.0055 AUD/USD
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, ETFs
Finder exclusive: Get an additional 30 days on top of the regular brokerage-free period for new accounts (see link for details). T&Cs apply.
Trade shares on the ASX, the US markets and buy ETFs with Moomoo. Plus join a community over 18 million investors.
CMC Invest
Finder Award
CMC Invest
US$0
0.60%
ASX shares, Global shares, Options trading, US shares, mFunds, ETFs
$0 brokerage on global shares including US, UK and Japan markets.
Trade up to 35,000 products, including shares, crypto, ETFs and managed funds, with access to 15 major global and Australian stock exchanges. Plus, buy Aussie shares for $0 brokerage up to $1,000. (Limited to one buy order per stock per trading day).
Webull
US$0.25
0.50% (50 pips)
ASX shares, Options trading, US shares, ETFs
Earn US$100 in cash vouchers when you fund your new account with US$2,000 until March 30, 2024. Plus, earn up to 5.3% p.a. interest on your US cash account (T&Cs apply).
Trade ASX and US stocks and US options, plus gain access to inbuilt news platforms and educational resources. You can also start trading for less with fractional shares.
Tiger Brokers
Exclusive
Tiger Brokers
US$2
37 pips
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, ETFs
Finder exclusive: Get 15 commission-free trades on US or ASX equities for the first 180 days and US$50 fractional shares when you deposit at least US$500. Plus, all new customers get 1 free trade per month for the first 12 months (T&Cs apply).
Get one brokerage-free trade per month for the first 12 months for US or ASX markets. T&Cs apply.
loading
The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Ecolab stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. However, this is not a recommendation. 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.

Is Ecolab under- or over-valued?

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 P/E ratio

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 43x. In other words, Ecolab shares trade at around 43x 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 PEG ratio

Ecolab's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.0126. 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

Ecolab's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$3 billion (£2.4 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Ecolab's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Ecolab share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Ecolab's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$138.8287 up to US$190.8399. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

ECL.US volatility(beta: 1.05)Avg. volatility(beta: 1.00)LowHigh

Beta measures a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Ecolab's is 1.048. 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 financials

Revenue TTM US$15.1 billion
Operating margin TTM 14.72%
Gross profit TTM US$5.4 billion
Return on assets TTM 6.02%
Return on equity TTM 16.79%
Profit margin 8.18%
Book value 23.458
Market capitalisation US$53.4 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Ecolab share dividends

43%

Dividend payout ratio: 43% of net profits

Recently Ecolab has paid out, on average, around 43% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.13% 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 1.13% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Ecolab's case, that would currently equate to about $2.12 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 16 October 2023. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 18 September 2023 (the "ex-dividend date").

Ecolab's environmental, social and governance track record

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.

Ecolab's total ESG risk score

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 01/01/2019) 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.).

Ecolab's environmental score

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.

Ecolab's social score

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.

Ecolab's governance score

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.

Ecolab's controversy score

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.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

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

Ecolab overview

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. 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. The 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. Ecolab Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Frequently asked questions

More guides on Finder

Ask an Expert

You are about to post a question on finder.com.au:

  • Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank details) as your question will be made public
  • finder.com.au is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or product provider
  • We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations
  • Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions below to see if yours has already been asked

Finder only provides general advice and factual information, so consider your own circumstances, or seek advice before you decide to act on our content. By submitting a question, you're accepting our Terms of Use, Disclaimer & Privacy Policy and 6. Finder Group Privacy & Cookies Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Go to site