Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.38.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial raised shares of Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $28.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESI. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 610.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

ESI traded down $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.79. The stock had a trading volume of 152,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,073,196. Element Solutions has a 12 month low of $16.77 and a 12 month high of $29.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.09.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $593.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.73 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.89%.

About Element Solutions

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.