Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Element Solutions in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,685,000 after purchasing an additional 249,280 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,209,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,468,000 after acquiring an additional 209,441 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,026,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,825,000 after buying an additional 146,570 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,319,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,320,000 after acquiring an additional 230,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,555,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,456,000 after purchasing an additional 14,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Trading Down 9.4 %

Shares of Element Solutions stock opened at $18.24 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Element Solutions has a 12-month low of $17.72 and a 12-month high of $29.78. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The business had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. On average, equities analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 31.37%.

About Element Solutions

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.