Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $50.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. 3,025,600 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 3,010,042 shares.The stock last traded at $42.6720 and had previously closed at $43.64.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ESI. Freedom Capital raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Element Solutions to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $38.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Element Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Element Solutions from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 151.0% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 57.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.54. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 69.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 5.32%.The company’s revenue was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.61%.

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.