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Investing.com - Baird has upgraded Ecolab Inc . (NYSE:ECL) from Neutral to Outperform and raised its price target to $300.00 from $273.00. The stock, currently trading at $259.39, is approaching its 52-week high of $274.17, with a market capitalization of $73.6 billion.
The research firm cited expectations for accelerating price-driven top-line performance and strong margin improvement as key factors behind the upgrade.
Baird noted that Ecolab is achieving its best return on invested capital (ROIC) in nearly a decade, while currently trading at its lowest relative valuation since 2018.
The firm acknowledged that while Ecolab stock "still isn’t ’cheap’ per se" and faces muted volumes, its recurring revenue model and strong competitive position present attractive qualities for large-cap investors.
Baird also highlighted Ecolab’s very low tariff risk as a multinational industrial company, which it considers a notable positive in the current market environment.
In other recent news, Ecolab Inc. announced its second-quarter earnings for 2025, showcasing a robust revenue performance but a slight miss in earnings per share (EPS). The company reported an EPS of $1.89, narrowly missing the forecasted $1.90. Revenue, however, met expectations, coming in at $4.02 billion. These developments highlight a period of strong sales growth for Ecolab. Despite the positive revenue figures, the slight miss in EPS was noted by the market. The earnings report did not mention any major mergers or acquisitions. Analyst reactions to the earnings report have not been detailed in the recent updates. Investors may be closely monitoring these recent developments as they assess Ecolab’s financial trajectory.
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