Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 978,648 Shares of Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in Element Solutions Inc. by 9.9%, now holding 3.67% of the company with a value of $201.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Bank of Montreal, have increased their holdings in Element Solutions during the last quarter, reflecting a growing interest in the stock.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Element Solutions, with a consensus price target of $27.38 and a rating of "Moderate Buy" based on recent performance and forecasted growth.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,899,114 shares of the company's stock after selling 978,648 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.67% of Element Solutions worth $201,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Element Solutions by 12.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,932,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688,056 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,800,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Element Solutions by 1,431.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,143,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,160 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $20,041,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $15,976,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated 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. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.38.

Element Solutions Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:ESI traded up $0.8750 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.8650. 1,418,795 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,816,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a current ratio of 4.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.01. Element Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.77 and a 12 month high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $625.20 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Element Solutions 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.