212,055 Shares in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI Bought by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Granite Investment Partners LLC disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Element Solutions, buying 212,055 shares valued at about $7.24 million. The position represented roughly 0.09% of the company.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on the stock, including upgrades and higher price targets from firms such as BMO, Mizuho, UBS, and Freedom Capital. The consensus rating remains Buy, with an average target price of $44.14.
• Element Solutions reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.41 EPS versus the $0.38 estimate and $840 million in revenue, well above forecasts. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, implying a 0.8% yield.

Granite Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 212,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,240,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Element Solutions at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. Seelaus Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $208,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $6,862,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the first quarter worth about $278,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Element Solutions to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.14.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ESI opened at $39.30 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average is $43.11 and its 200-day moving average is $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 63.39, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. Element Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.63 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $710.51 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Element Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 41.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.61%.

Element Solutions 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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