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

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $30.21 and last traded at $29.4410, with a volume of 292125 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESI shares. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Element Solutions Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.88.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $656.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. Element Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $7,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 306,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,285,760. The trade was a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 117,393 shares in the company, valued at $3,122,653.80. The trade was a 23.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESI. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Element Solutions by 154.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 710.1% during the second 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. acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth about $41,000. 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.