Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) 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. The stock had previously closed at $29.26.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ESI. CJS Securities raised Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,122,653.80. This represents a 23.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $7,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 306,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,285,760. This represents a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 154.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions by 710.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Element Solutions Price 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.75. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $656.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

About Element Solutions

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.