UBS Group AG Purchases 142,722 Shares of Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Element Solutions by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 142,722 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,180,026 shares valued at about $29.5 million.
• Element Solutions reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.41 versus estimates of $0.38 and revenue of $840 million, well above the $710.5 million consensus. Revenue also jumped 41.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.57, though one director recently sold about 49% of his holdings in a disclosed insider transaction.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,180,026 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,722 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.49% of Element Solutions worth $29,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESI. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 68.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,922,726 shares of the company's stock worth $123,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,724 shares during the last quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 134.6% in the second 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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 253.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,349,862 shares of the company's stock worth $59,146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684,994 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $28,031,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 167.0% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,820,902 shares of the company's stock worth $45,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company's stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:ESI opened at $43.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.55. Element Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.80 and a twelve month high of $44.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $710.51 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Element Solutions news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 147,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,250,992.64. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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