Argent Capital Management LLC Invests $4.79 Million in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management initiated a $4.79 million position in Element Solutions, purchasing 140,145 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 92.32% of the company.
• Element Solutions reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, beating estimates by $0.04, and revenue of $977.9 million, up 56.4% year over year and above analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain an overall “Buy” rating with an average price target of $43.50; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, yielding approximately 0.9% annually.

Argent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 140,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,785,000. Argent Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Element Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,119,999 shares of the company's stock worth $277,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,273 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,485,342 shares of the company's stock worth $212,053,000 after acquiring an additional 228,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,161,586 shares of the company's stock worth $178,968,000 after purchasing an additional 83,033 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,069,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,512 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,089,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,183,000 after acquiring an additional 621,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Trading Up 3.0%

ESI opened at $36.69 on Friday. Element Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.63 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.19.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 14.88%. The company had revenue of $977.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $873.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Element Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given 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 yield of 0.9%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

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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