Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Shares Gap Down to $26.92

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.92, but opened at $26.11. Element Solutions shares last traded at $26.64, with a volume of 163,929 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Element Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.58. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $613.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.95 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 8.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 59.26%.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 370.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 1,585.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Company 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.