Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $28.38 and last traded at $28.3180, with a volume of 1552049 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.56. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $656.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $645.13 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 9.58%.The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid 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 payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $984,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,122,653.80. This trade represents a 23.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $7,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 306,880 shares in the company, valued at $8,285,760. This trade represents a 48.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Element Solutions by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,256,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,822,000 after purchasing an additional 139,751 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,922,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,905,000 after buying an additional 2,003,724 shares during the period. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,722,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,864,000 after buying an additional 413,834 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 61.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 4,656,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777,265 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,426,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,414,000 after buying an additional 129,590 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.