Ecolab Declares a Dividend of $0.37 per Share
Price movement Ecolab (ECL) has a market cap of $35.4 billion. It rose 0.67% to close at $119.61 per share on December 8, 2016. The stock’s weekly, monthly, and year-to-date (or YTD) price movements were 0.95%, 5.3%, and 5.5%, respectively, on the same day. ECL is trading 3.0% above its 20-day moving average, 2.7% above […]
Dec. 9 2016, Published 5:03 p.m. ET
Price movement
Ecolab (ECL) has a market cap of $35.4 billion. It rose 0.67% to close at $119.61 per share on December 8, 2016. The stock’s weekly, monthly, and year-to-date (or YTD) price movements were 0.95%, 5.3%, and 5.5%, respectively, on the same day. ECL is trading 3.0% above its 20-day moving average, 2.7% above its 50-day moving average, and 2.9% above its 200-day moving average.
Related ETF and peers
The PowerShares Water Resources ETF (PHO) invests 7.7% of its holdings in Ecolab. The YTD price movement of PHO was 17.3% on December 8. The market caps of Ecolab’s competitors are as follows:
Ecolab declares a dividend
Ecolab has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.37 per share on its common stock. The dividend will be paid on January 17, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 20, 2016.
Performance of Ecolab in 3Q16
Ecolab reported 3Q16 net sales of $3.4 billion, a fall of 1.7% from the net sales of $3.5 billion reported in 3Q15. The company’s operating margin expanded 500 basis points between 3Q15 and 3Q16.
Its net income and EPS (earnings per share) rose to $374.1 million and $1.27, respectively, in 3Q16, compared with $257.8 million and $0.86 in 3Q15. It reported adjusted EPS of $1.28 in 3Q15 and 3Q16.
Ecolab’s cash and cash equivalents and inventories fell 2.3% and 6.7%, respectively, between 3Q15 and 3Q16. Its current ratio and debt-to-equity ratio fell to 1.0x and 1.6x, respectively, in 3Q16. compared with 1.3x and 1.8x in 3Q15.
Projections
Ecolab has made the following projections for fiscal 2016:
- adjusted gross margin of ~48%, which excludes special gains and charges
- net interest expense of ~$265 million
- adjusted tax rate of 25%–26%
- adjusted EPS of $4.35–$4.45, which excludes special gains and charges
The company has made the following projections for fiscal 4Q16
- adjusted gross margin of 48%–49%, which excludes special gains and charges
- net interest expense of ~$70 million
- adjusted EPS of $1.23–$1.33, which excludes special gains and charges
In the next part, we’ll look at J&J Snack Foods (JJSF).
