Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Element Solutions has a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” from 11 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $39.57.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $0.41 versus estimates of $0.38 and revenue of $840 million versus expectations of $710.51 million, with revenue up 41.5% year over year.
• The stock has been performing strongly, opening at $43.83 and trading near its 52-week high of $44.90; it also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.5714.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $38.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 147,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,250,992.64. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Element Solutions by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,330 shares of the company's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 3,101 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 76.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,342 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Element Solutions by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 454,889 shares of the company's stock worth $15,530,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the first quarter worth about $26,446,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 36.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,977,958 shares of the company's stock worth $101,667,000 after buying an additional 798,923 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Up 3.7%

ESI stock opened at $43.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.74 and a 200 day moving average of $30.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 70.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $20.80 and a 52 week high of $44.90.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $840.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $710.51 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Element Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.61%.

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.

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