Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ESI. Barclays upped their price target on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet raised shares of Element Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho increased their price target on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $26.00.

Element Solutions Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE ESI traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,279,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,596. The company has a current ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.39. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.53 and a twelve month high of $25.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.11, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $588.17 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.62% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 59.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,090.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 1,410 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $32,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,109,021.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,090.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,203 shares of company stock worth $2,255,110 in the last ninety days. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,706 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,719,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,523,000 after buying an additional 1,035,756 shares during the period. Glenview Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 3,762,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,067,000 after buying an additional 979,798 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 10,622.4% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 848,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,636,000 after buying an additional 840,653 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,232,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,154,000 after acquiring an additional 798,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

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.