Do You Think Ecolab (ECL) Will See a 15% Gain in Earnings?
Mairs & Power, an investment advisor, released the “Mairs & Power Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The Mairs & Power Growth Fund beat the S&P 500 TR Index in 2023 and produced solid results. The fund returned 27.70% in 2023 compared to a 26.29% return for the index. Additionally, the Growth Fund beat its peer group according to the Morningstar Core Index, which increased by 22.13%. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Mairs & Power Growth Fund featured stocks such as Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) provides products and services for water, hygiene, and infection prevention. On February 12, 2024, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) stock closed at $202.98 per share. One-month return of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was 1.98%, and its shares gained 28.14% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has a market capitalization of $57.878 billion.
Mairs & Power Growth Fund stated the following regarding Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
"All of our Materials holdings—Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL), HB Fuller (FUL), and Sherwin Williams (SHW)—also posted strong results in 2023, a stark reversal from the prior year. After oil prices spiked above $100 in 2022 due to the Ukraine-Russia Conflict, oil has since pulled back to the low $70s. Oil and its by-products are major inputs for all of our Materials holdings; as such, lower oil prices have led to a rebound in profits. For example, our largest Materials holding—Ecolab—is expected to increase earnings more than 15% this year after declining 5% last year."
A technician wearing a protective suit in a water treatment plant.
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 53 hedge fund portfolios held Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) at the end of third quarter which was 56 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in another article and shared ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy's views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
