Analysts Set Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) Price Target at $35.75

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.75.

ESI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 147,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,250,992.64. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESI. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 189,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,000 after acquiring an additional 59,154 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 3,359.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 7,929 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 16,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ESI opened at $33.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.20. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $16.77 and a 52 week high of $37.74. The stock has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.48%.The company had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 40.51%.

Element Solutions Company 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.