Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New $11.43 Million Investment in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors acquired 239,350 shares of Element Solutions, valued at approximately $11.43 million, giving it a 0.10% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 92.32% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.50, although Mizuho lowered its target to $45 from $54.
• Element Solutions exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.47 EPS and $977.9 million in revenue, up 56.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, representing a 0.9% yield.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 239,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,429,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Element Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 778 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research set a $47.00 price target on Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Element Solutions Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of ESI stock opened at $35.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Element Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $40.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.26.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 14.88%. The firm had revenue of $977.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $873.19 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Element Solutions's revenue was up 56.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 43.24%.

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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