Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.98 and last traded at $27.9440, with a volume of 2769666 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CJS Securities raised Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 4.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 9.58%.The company had revenue of $656.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $645.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $984,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,122,653.80. This trade represents a 23.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $7,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 306,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,285,760. This trade represents a 48.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESI. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 154.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 710.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

About Element Solutions

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.