Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Element Solutions reported quarterly earnings of $0.37 EPS, exceeding expectations of $0.36 EPS and showing a 2.0% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.38% and a payout ratio of 26.89%.
• Several analysts have upgraded Element Solutions' ratings and price targets, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $27.13.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The business had revenue of $625.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $587.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Element Solutions Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:ESI traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.13. 3,607,339 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,279,557. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 4.10. Element Solutions has a 52-week low of $16.77 and a 52-week high of $29.78. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.16.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $400,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 339.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,098,000 after buying an additional 344,950 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 872,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,726,000 after buying an additional 37,204 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,894,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,825,000 after buying an additional 712,466 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.38.

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.