Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 72,145 Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 243.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,819 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 72,145 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $2,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Element Solutions by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 104,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after buying an additional 3,315 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,730,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,934,000 after acquiring an additional 45,752 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 98,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 3,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Element Solutions by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,719,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ESI stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 320,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,391,238. The company has a current ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 49.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.91 and a 200-day moving average of $23.99. Element Solutions Inc has a 52 week low of $17.57 and a 52 week high of $27.86.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $575.00 million during 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 for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 59.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Element Solutions Profile

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.