Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Holdings in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Element Solutions Inc. by 25.0%, owning 70,319 shares valued at approximately $1.59 million.
• Institutional investors largely dominate Element Solutions, with 92.32% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutions, indicating strong institutional interest.
• A consensus price target of $27.38 for Element Solutions shares has been established, with the stock rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,319 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,079 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Element Solutions were worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,508,421 shares of the company's stock worth $56,715,000 after acquiring an additional 67,888 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 365.8% during the 1st quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 133,395 shares of the company's stock worth $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 104,758 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 47,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 156,600 shares of the company's stock worth $3,541,000 after acquiring an additional 86,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $3,575,000. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ESI traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.43. 604,437 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,605,721. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.05. Element Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.77 and a 52-week high of $29.78.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Element Solutions's payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESI shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.38.

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.