Will Ecolab Beat These Analyst Estimates? (ECL)

Will Ecolab Beat These Analyst Estimates?

Ecolab (NYSE: ECL ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Ecolab's revenues will grow 64.6% and EPS will grow 27.1%.

The average estimate for revenue is $3.04 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.89.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Ecolab tallied revenue of $3.02 billion. GAAP reported sales were 74% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.74 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.87. GAAP EPS of $0.80 for Q3 were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.65 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 46.6%, 310 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.3%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.9%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $11.85 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.98.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 271 members out of 285 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 98 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 97 give Ecolab a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ecolab is outperform, with an average price target of $71.33.

The rich are different than you and me: They might not notice the moneymaking stories right under our noses. In our new report, "Middle-Class Millionaire-Makers: 3 Stocks Wall Street's Too Rich to Notice," we give you three Peter Lynch-inspired buy-what-you-know stocks for the 99%. Click here for instant access to this free report.

Add Ecolab to My Watchlist.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.