Squarepoint Ops LLC Grows Stake in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Squarepoint Ops raised its Element Solutions stake by 50.4% to 224,679 shares, while other major investors—including BlackRock and California State Teachers Retirement System—also expanded or initiated positions. Institutions and hedge funds now own 92.32% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: Element Solutions has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $46.00, despite Mizuho cutting its target to $45.00. Jefferies initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $55.00 target.
• Strong quarterly performance but shares declined: The company earned $0.47 per share on $977.9 million in revenue, exceeding estimates and representing 56.4% year-over-year revenue growth. Shares opened at $35.81, down 1.1%, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 50.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,679 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 75,279 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.09% of Element Solutions worth $10,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,317,663,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Element Solutions by 4,566.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,778,378 shares of the company's stock worth $610,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,504,547 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $110,892,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,069,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 134.6% during the 2nd quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,426,156 shares of the company's stock worth $77,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,691 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESI. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on Element Solutions from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Element Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $46.00.

Element Solutions Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ESI opened at $35.81 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.40, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.26. Element Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.91.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $873.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Element Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 56.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.