BMO Maintains Outperform Rating on Ecolab (ECL) Despite Post-Earnings Share Decline

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) ranks among the stocks in Bill Gates’ portfolio that analysts are watching. On October 30, BMO Capital maintained its Outperform rating on Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) but reduced its price target from $310 to $307 for the company’s shares. Despite Ecolab’s usual safe-haven status, BMO Capital sees the 7% sell-off in shares following the company’s earnings report as an alluring buying prospect.

Ecolab’s third-quarter results showed a 3% increase in organic sales and a 4% increase in reported sales. The company’s growth was fueled by rising pricing, increased volume, and a substantial rise in organic operating income margin, which hit 18.7%. However, given the gains from the divestiture of the global surgical solutions business last year, the reported operating income dropped by 27%.

Amid difficult market conditions, BMO states that Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) remains on course to meet its 12–15% EPS target in 2025. Even in a subpar macroeconomic climate, management anticipates comparable growth in 2026.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is a global leader in water, hygiene, and energy technologies. Its solutions serve a wide range of industries, including agriculture, food safety, and industrial processing.

While we acknowledge the potential of ECL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ECL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.