Gotham Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Element Solutions Inc. $ESI

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,444,890 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 577,934 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $36,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 1,721.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 225,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,686,000 after purchasing an additional 213,516 shares during the period. Candelo Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,231,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 148.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 407,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,255,000 after buying an additional 243,495 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Element Solutions by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 512,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,894,000 after buying an additional 49,386 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:ESI opened at $31.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Element Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.77 and a 12-month high of $37.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.74.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $632.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 40.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESI. Bank of America raised their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.75.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 147,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,250,992.64. This represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions 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.