Short Interest in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Increases By 25.1%

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,190,000 shares, a growth of 25.1% from the May 31st total of 4,150,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Element Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:ESI traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $27.08. 906,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,406,764. Element Solutions has a 52-week low of $17.57 and a 52-week high of $27.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.91. The company has a current ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 5.62%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $588.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Element Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ESI shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 370.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 1,585.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Company Profile

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products.