Stocktoria
ECOLAB INC. ECL
ECOLAB INC. (ECL) earns a Piotroski F-score of 4/9 (mixed financial health), with an Altman Z″ in the safe zone. It pays a dividend yielding 0.94% (safety: safe). FY2025 revenue was $16.1B at a 12.9% net margin.
Quality score trend · recomputed for each fiscal year
Each year's score is computed from that year's filing — a rising Piotroski F or Altman Z″ means improving financial health, a fall is worth a look.
Beneish M-score: -2.51 — low (below −2.22 — no manipulation red flag) . A statistical screen for earnings manipulation, not proof — and it doesn't apply to most banks/insurers.
Analyst price target
Recent analyst actions
| Date | Firm | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-30 | Wells Fargo | Equal-Weight (main) |
| 2026-07-29 | Mizuho | Outperform (main) |
| 2026-07-29 | BMO Capital | Outperform (main) |
| 2026-07-29 | JP Morgan | Overweight (main) |
| 2026-07-17 | Oppenheimer | Outperform (up) |
| 2026-07-09 | Deutsche Bank | Buy (main) |
Wall Street analyst consensus — a sentiment gauge, not our scoring.
Forward estimates · earnings calendar →
Consensus analyst estimates and scheduled dates — forward-looking, may change.
Smart money · insiders, last 12 months
Open-market insider purchases minus sells (SEC Form 4) — real buying with their own money is a bullish “smart money” signal; grants and option exercises are excluded.
How it ranks in Manufacturing · percentile among 1957 companies
Percentile vs other Manufacturing companies we cover — e.g. “stronger than 90%” means only 10% score higher on that measure.
Piotroski F breakdown · 4/9 tests passed
- Positive return on assets
- Positive operating cash flow
- Rising ROA
- Cash flow exceeds net income
- Lower long-term debt
- Rising current ratio
- No share dilution
- Rising gross margin
- Rising asset turnover
Altman Z″ components · safe zone
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Working capital / assets | 0.017 |
| Retained earnings / assets | 0.52 |
| EBIT / assets | 0.111 |
| Equity / liabilities | 0.658 |
Sector peers · similar-size Manufacturing companies compare side by side →
| Ticker | Company | Piotroski F | Altman Z″ | P / E | Revenue growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECL | ECOLAB INC. | 4/9 | 3.24 | 38.5 | +2.2% |
| CHD | CHURCH & DWIGHT CO INC /DE/ | 7/9 | 4.22 | 32 | +1.6% |
| SCL | STEPAN CO | 7/9 | 3.71 | 27 | +7% |
| WNW | Meiwu Technology Co Ltd | 4/9 | — | — | — |
| BYAH | Park Ha Biological Technology Co., Ltd. | 5/9 | — | — | — |
| PG | PROCTER & GAMBLE Co | 6/9 | 4.67 | 21.6 | +3.3% |
| VFS | VinFast Auto Ltd. | 4/9 | -13.01 | — | +57.9% |
About ECOLAB INC.
Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Global Water, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Pest Elimination, and Global Life Sciences. The Global Water segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, primary metals and mining, power generation, global refining, petrochemical, pulp and paper industries. The Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, healthcare, hospitality, lodging, government, education and retail industries. The Global Pest Elimination segment provides pest elimination services to detect, prevent, and eliminate pests comprising rodents and insects in full-service and quick-service restaurants, food and beverage processors, hotels, grocery operations, and other commercial segments, including education, life sciences, and healthcare. The Global Life Sciences segment provides cleaning and contamination control solutions to pharmaceutical and personal care manufacturers. It offers its products under the Ecolab, Kay, Purolite, and Bioquell brand names. The company 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.
FAQ
Is ECL financially healthy?
ECOLAB INC.'s Piotroski F-score is 4/9 (8–9 is excellent, 0–3 weak), and its Altman Z″ distress score is in the safe zone.
Does ECL pay a dividend, and is it safe?
Yes. ECOLAB INC. pays a dividend yielding about 0.94% with a 36.3% payout ratio, rated “safe” for safety.
How profitable is ECL?
In FY2025, ECOLAB INC. had a net margin of 12.9% and a return on equity of 21.2%.
Is ECL overvalued or undervalued?
ECOLAB INC. trades at about 38.2× trailing earnings — near its 10-year norm (10-year range 26.9×–48.5×, median 36.8×). Stocktoria reports the data, not buy/sell advice.
What is the analyst price target for ECL?
The average Wall-Street price target for ECOLAB INC. is $324.67, about 16.6% above the recent price, from 21 analysts (consensus: buy).
Is ECL a good stock to buy?
Stocktoria doesn't give buy or sell advice, but here is the data on ECOLAB INC.: a Piotroski F-score of 4/9, an Altman Z″ in the safe zone, a P/E of about 38.5×, a dividend yield of 0.94%. Weigh these quality and valuation signals against your own goals.
Computed from company filings · US · as of 2025-12-31. Facts plus Stocktoria's own computed scores — not investment advice.