Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $30.28 and last traded at $29.5550, with a volume of 431852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.03. 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 market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $8,285,760. The trade was a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 117,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,122,653.80. This represents a 23.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 339.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,098,000 after acquiring an additional 344,950 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Element Solutions by 60.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,894,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,825,000 after acquiring an additional 712,466 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 4.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 872,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,726,000 after acquiring an additional 37,204 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $400,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions by 6.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 1,865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

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.