Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Element Solutions a "Buy" — 12 brokerages cover the stock (3 strong buy, 7 buy, 2 hold) with an average 12‑month price target of $35.75 and UBS recently lifting its target to $43.00.
• Element Solutions beat last quarter's estimates, posting $0.37 EPS versus $0.36 expected and revenue of $676.2M (up 8.3% YoY); the shares trade around $38.20 with a $9.3B market cap and a P/E of 48.36.
• Insider activity and ownership: Director E. Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares (~$5.1M), insiders own 6.2% while institutions hold 92.32%; the company also pays a quarterly $0.08 dividend (≈0.8% yield, DPR ~40.5%).

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.75.

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESI shares. Freedom Capital raised Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

ESI opened at $38.20 on Wednesday. Element Solutions has a 12-month low of $17.77 and a 12-month high of $38.49. The stock has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.36, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.50 and a 200-day moving average of $29.03. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.48%.The company had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $632.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 115,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,908,000 after acquiring an additional 64,433 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 139,751 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,185,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,195,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,609,000 after acquiring an additional 916,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,208,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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