Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Short Interest Up 25.1% in June

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,190,000 shares, a growth of 25.1% from the May 31st total of 4,150,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Element Solutions Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ESI traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.08. 906,898 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,406,764. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Element Solutions has a one year low of $17.57 and a one year high of $27.86.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $588.17 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 5.62%. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $78,000. Castleark Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 13.3% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 286,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,146,000 after buying an additional 33,590 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,259,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,453,000 after acquiring an additional 41,718 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $44,527,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Element Solutions by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 121,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 26,104 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ESI. Mizuho upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.40.

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.