Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.60.

ESI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Element Solutions from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

ESI stock opened at $23.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.24. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $25.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.32.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.06% and a return on equity of 13.51%. The firm had revenue of $573.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Element Solutions’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 6,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $152,632.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 726,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,852,456.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 146,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,090.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 6,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $152,632.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 726,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,852,456.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,203 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,110. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,719,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,756 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,232,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,154,000 after purchasing an additional 798,662 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,790,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,676,000 after purchasing an additional 106,800 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,706 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 3,762,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,067,000 after purchasing an additional 979,798 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.