We recently published a list of 10 Best Performing Large Cap Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) stands against other best performing large cap stocks to buy according to analysts.

Q4 2024 Market Performance Overview

On January 6, Pathstone released its quarterly Flash Report for Q4 2024. The report highlighted several key trends and challenges for the financial markets. It highlighted that despite some volatility towards the end of the quarter in December, the US equity market continued to outperform the international markets, particularly led by the large-cap stocks. Large-cap stocks gained 7.1% during the fourth quarter, driven by strong economic fundamentals, including robust labor market data and high consumer spending during the holiday season. On the other hand, the continued strength of the USD and the persistent inflation led to a decline in other developed markets internationally.

In comparison to the large-cap stocks, small-caps faced significant challenges, experiencing a sharp monthly decline of 8.3% in December, though the sector managed a slight quarterly gain of 0.3%. As per the report, this underperformance was partly due to policy uncertainty and rising long-term yields, which dampened expectations for smaller companies. The fixed-income market also struggled, with long-term Treasury bonds declining by 9.7% for the quarter as the 10-year Treasury yield increased to 4.6%. Moreover, while elaborating on the labor market quarterly performance, the report highlighted that the US labor market demonstrated resilience in November, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 227,000 jobs, surpassing expectations of 200,000. This growth marked a significant recovery from October’s numbers, which were affected by hurricanes and strikes. Although the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, the labor market showed fundamental strength despite higher interest rates.

One of the key market trends that have helped large-cap growth stocks is the strength of the American consumer market. Consumer spending was exceptionally strong during the holiday season, breaking previous records across both traditional retail and online channels. However, regardless Inflation remains a significant concern as the Consumer Price Index reached 2.7% in November, above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Persistent inflationary pressures are influencing the Fed’s monetary policy approach, leading to a more cautious stance on future rate cuts. Lastly, the report highlights that the economic landscape ahead presents a complex mix of resilience and risk. While the labor market and spending provide a solid foundation to the market persistent inflation, higher interest rates, and policy uncertainty pose potential challenges.

Our Methodology

To curate the list of 10 best-performing large-cap stocks to buy according to analysts, we used the Finviz stock screener to get an aggregated list of stocks. Using the screener we aggregated a list of large-cap stocks that have performed positively over the past year and analysts still see upside potential over the next 12 months. Next, we cross-checked the performance and analyst upside potential of each stock from CNN and ranked these stocks in ascending order of analysts’ upside potential. We have also added the number of hedge funds holding each stock, sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database. Please note that the data was collected on February 28th, 2025.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

1-Year Performance: 20.43%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59

Analyst Upside Potential: 11.17% 

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) specializes in providing water and hygiene solutions for industries like manufacturing, food processing, and healthcare. The company also provides infection prevention in hospitals and healthcare facilities by providing specialized cleaning products. Their industrial services include solutions for industries like mining, power generation, and paper production to manage water and cleaning processes. It is one of the best-performing large-cap stocks to buy according to analysts.

Analysts have recently provided positive assessments of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL), reflecting optimism about the company’s future performance. On February 18, Piper Sandler raised its price target to $370 from the previous target of $270, while maintaining an Overweight rating. The firm noted that they expect the company to continue growing earnings at its historical rate, despite challenges such as weaker economic growth and currency headwinds in 2025. They believe the company is on track to achieve a 20% operating margin sooner than anticipated.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) delivered record growth in fiscal 2024. During the fiscal Q4 of 2024 alone, organic sales of the company grew by 4% in Q4, driven by consistent volume growth and value pricing. Management noted that the US market, which accounts for more than half of the company’s sales, showed mid-single-digit organic sales growth and is expected to strengthen further in 2025.

Overall, ECL ranks 10th on our list of best performing large cap stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of ECL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ECL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

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