Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.60.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ESI shares. StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Element Solutions in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Element Solutions Price Performance

ESI opened at $23.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.19 and a 200 day moving average of $22.24. Element Solutions has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $25.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.67, a PEG 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 5.06%. The company 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 business earned $0.29 EPS. Element Solutions’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In other news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 146,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,090.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 14,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $342,756.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,979,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,090.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,203 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,110. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Element Solutions by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 370.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 1,585.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Element Solutions

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.