Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Stock Position in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Element Solutions Inc. by 51.2%, now owning approximately 3,016,626 shares valued at $68.2 million.
• Despite the stake reduction, several analysts have raised their target prices for Element Solutions, with new price objectives ranging from $27.00 to $30.00, suggesting a generally positive outlook for the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 32.00%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 51.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,016,626 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,167,736 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.24% of Element Solutions worth $68,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Element Solutions by 131.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,861,197 shares of the company's stock worth $64,692,000 after buying an additional 1,622,819 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in Element Solutions by 169.5% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 194,488 shares of the company's stock worth $4,397,000 after buying an additional 122,320 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at $326,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 48.1% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 244,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 79,433 shares during the period. Finally, Gates Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Element Solutions by 101.9% in the first 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESI traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $25.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,371. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Element Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.77 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.65 and a 200-day moving average of $23.00.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $625.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $587.45 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 9.66%.The business's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 32.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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 target price on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.38.

Element Solutions Company Profile

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.