Ecolab, Inc.

• Hedge Fund Merchants’ Gate Capital’s Stock Picks for 2013

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - February 14, 2013 | Tickers: ARG, CHRW, ECL, EXPD, SLB

  Merchants’ Gate Capital, a hedge fund managed by Jason Capello, recently filed its 13F for the fourth quarter of 2012. This wave of 13f filings from hedge funds and other major investors discloses many of the long equity positions that each owned at the end of December--in other words, what they liked going into 2013. We use 13F filings in a number of ways. One way is to collect them more »

• Will You Clean Up With These Cleaning Product Stocks?

  By Chris Hodge - January 22, 2013 | Tickers: CHD, ECL, SCL

  I love cleaning. There's just something about the smell of bleach that takes me back to childhood. There are tons of companies, such as 3M and Johnson & Johnson, that make household and cleaning products. But what about companies where the household product, and more specifically the cleaning product is their bread and butter? What makes them special? I'd like to find out, and more importantly find out if more »

• Ecolab's Case For Financial Re-engineering

  By Bob Chandler - January 7, 2013 | Tickers: BHI, CJES, ECL, RES

  Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) is a chemical company that historically specialized in cleaning and sanitizing products and services. The company is probably not very well known but could offer an interesting investment opportunity because of a current business transformation via financial re-engineering.

  Ecolab, based on mainly its cleaning & sanitizing business, had core 2011 annual revenues of around $6.6 billion. In December 2011 it started its transformation with the highly levered more »

• The Future Contains Lots of Pulp

  By Maxxwell A.R. Chatsko - November 29, 2012 | Tickers: UFS, ECL, IBM, IP, LMT |

  “Ben, just one word. Are you listening? Plastics.”

                                                                                      -Mr. McGuire in The Graduate (1967)

  The infamous movie quote came after Ben was asked what he planned to do with his future. He wasn’t very upbeat about the lack of direction in his life, but you should have a much clearer investment strategy. And it should probably include the next game-changing, world-transforming material: nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC).

  What?

  Yes, NCC should more »

• Avoid This Consumer Products Company

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - October 1, 2012 | Tickers: CHD, CL, ECL, PG, SCL

  Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is a $19 billion market cap cleaning products company whose products include kitchen cleaners, sanitizers, and antimicrobial products. According to our database of 13F filings, the largest hedge fund holder of Ecolab at the end of June was Eagle Capital Management; the fund reported a position of 8.6 million shares, up slightly from the beginning of April. Jason Capello’s Merchants’ Gate Capital cut its more »

• Merchants’ Gate Capital’s Top Stock Picks

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - September 30, 2012 | Tickers: ECL, EXPD, JCP, SLB, UPS

  Merchants’ Gate Capital is a relative newcomer to the hedge fund community, opening in 2007 with about $650 million in assets under management. It must be doing well, however; by 2011, it was ranked as one of the 100 largest U.S. equity focused hedge funds. In August, the fund filed its 13F with the SEC in which it disclosed many of its positions as of the end of June more »

• Kronos Worldwide Will Hit $25 by Next Summer

  By Soroush Pour - August 8, 2012 | Tickers: DD, ECL, HUN, KRO, MOS

  Officially a subsidiary of Valhi, Inc. (which is discussed here in greater detail), Kronos Worldwide (NYSE: KRO) produces titanium dioxide, a pigment used in the manufacturing of paint, paper and plastic.  Although it is naturally white, titanium dioxide plays well with others, as it is used to mix with every other color under the sun. Over the past month, shares of KRO have returned 13.4%, outpacing the basic materials more »

• Investing in Immigrants - Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Reasons for Visa Reform

  By Nick Slepko - July 18, 2012 | Tickers: ADM, ADSK, ECL, FSL, WY

  [continued from "Investing in Immigrants - The Future of Engineering Looks Good for California, Baja California"]

  Minnesota-based global sanitation and chemicals major Ecolabs (NYSE: ECL) believes it will be able to almost double its revenues if it can find the talent it needs to hit its stated goal of $11 billion in revenue and capitalize on its recent merger.  Chairman, President, and CEO Douglas Baker has also expressed concern that, “Currently more »

• Can you Clean Up with this Dividend Aristocrat?

  By Chad Henage - July 5, 2012 | Tickers: MMM, ASH, ECL, PG

  There is one name you need to know if you want to get something clean, Ecolab (NYSE: ECL). The company has products for cleaning and treating just about everything you could touch. From cleaners and sanitizers for dishes, glasses, and kitchen equipment, to water treatment and janitorial cleaning supplies. In an interesting mix of businesses, the company also offers energy services, and solutions for the oil & gas industry. Investors might know Ecolab for another reason, the company has increased its dividend for over 25 straight years. This is great news if you've owned Ecolab during this time, but what about those of us who might be considering Ecolab today?

• Insiders are Buying these Stocks

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - June 17, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, ECL, HPQ, MSFT, VRX

  For ordinary investors, following the smartest investors in the world is always a good strategy to develop investment ideas. But who are smart investors? In our opinion, corporate insiders are more knowledgeable about their own companies and their respective industries, making them amongst the smartest investors in the world, at least when it comes to their own companies. By focusing on insider transactions, especially large insider purchases, ordinary investors are more »

• Ecolab Positioned For Strong Earnings Growth

  By Bobby Fisher - March 2, 2012 | Tickers: CHD, ECL

  Imagine having someone come into your home, assess your cleaning needs, sell you the right products and show you how to use them, then having him or her come back and make sure that you were keeping everything up to par. This example may sound extreme, but what if instead of your home, it was your business? What if you owned a restaurant or healthcare facility and any lapse in more »