Analysts Set Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) PT at $26.38

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.38.

ESI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESI traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.08. 1,764,894 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,936,539. Element Solutions has a 12 month low of $16.77 and a 12 month high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $22.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34.

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

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Element Solutions's payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company's stock worth $43,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,981 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,818,000. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $29,800,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Element Solutions by 1,431.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,143,869 shares of the company's stock worth $25,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $24,169,000. Hedge funds and other 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.