Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $33.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Element Solutions traded as high as $29.76 and last traded at $29.73, with a volume of 158699 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.26.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Element Solutions from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.25.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $7,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 306,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,285,760. This represents a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 117,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,122,653.80. The trade was a 23.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 1,245.7% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 123,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after acquiring an additional 114,605 shares during the period. Walnut Level Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,812,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,185,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the second quarter worth $1,001,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 135.5% during the second quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 237,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,375,000 after purchasing an additional 136,540 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 9.58%.The firm had revenue of $656.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Element Solutions Company Profile

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company’s solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.