Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Element Solutions from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, CJS Securities raised Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.75.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ESI stock opened at $33.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.00 and its 200 day moving average is $28.20. Element Solutions has a 1-year low of $16.77 and a 1-year high of $37.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 3.68 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.48% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The business had revenue of $676.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $632.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,250,992.64. The trade was a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 154.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other 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.