Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Element Solutions (ESI) from "hold" to "buy"; analyst consensus is a Buy with an average price target of $35.75 (3 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 2 Hold).
• Element Solutions beat Q2 expectations, reporting $0.37 EPS vs. $0.36 estimate and $676.2M revenue vs. $632.4M estimate; the stock has a market cap of $8.31B, a P/E of 43.16, and opened at $34.10 (12‑month range $16.77–$37.74).
• Director E. Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares for about $5.10M (a 49.27% reduction in his position); insiders own 6.90% of the company while institutional investors hold roughly 92.32%.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Freedom Capital raised Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $35.75.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ESI stock opened at $34.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.46. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Element Solutions has a 12 month low of $16.77 and a 12 month high of $37.74.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $676.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.40 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 7.48% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Element Solutions news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total value of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 147,832 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 154.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Element Solutions

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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