Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded by Fermium Researc to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Element Solutions has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Fermium Research, highlighting positive analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Institutional investors own 92.32% of Element Solutions, indicating strong confidence from major market players.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a 2.0% increase in revenue year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.37, surpassing analyst expectations.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Fermium Researc to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.38.

Element Solutions Price Performance

NYSE ESI traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $26.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 245,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,496,023. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $25.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.04. The company has a quick ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Element Solutions has a 1 year low of $16.77 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.31.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 9.66%.The firm had revenue of $625.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Element Solutions news, EVP John Edward Capps sold 77,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $2,079,332.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 609,790 shares in the company, valued at $16,324,078.30. The trade was a 11.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey J. Dorman sold 40,725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $1,085,728.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 214,837 shares in the company, valued at $5,727,554.42. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 168,399 shares of company stock valued at $4,492,561. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 101.9% during the 1st quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,424,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,653,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738,250 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,932,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,732,000 after buying an additional 2,688,056 shares during the period. Scopus Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 134.6% in the 2nd quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,426,156 shares of the company's stock worth $77,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,691 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP lifted its position in Element Solutions by 61.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 4,656,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777,265 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Element Solutions by 131.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,861,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

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.