Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)’s stock price dropped 5.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.50 and last traded at $23.35. Approximately 2,084,761 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the average daily volume of 1,601,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESI shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.14.

Element Solutions Trading Down 2.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.30.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. Analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 60,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26,753 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Element Solutions by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 172,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after acquiring an additional 49,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,328,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,224,000 after acquiring an additional 29,253 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 11,702 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $433,000. 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.