Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ESI. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. 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 issued a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE ESI opened at $27.00 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.32. The firm has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.57 and a twelve month high of $28.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $613.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.95 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.26%.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,289,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,458,000 after buying an additional 676,432 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,106,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,490,000 after purchasing an additional 315,645 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 149.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,934,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355,554 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 3,762,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,067,000 after purchasing an additional 979,798 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 16.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,061,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,485,000 after purchasing an additional 298,668 shares during 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.