Short Interest in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Drops By 6.1%

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the December 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Element Solutions Price Performance

NYSE ESI traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $25.96. 788,038 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,110. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $21.42 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.88 and a 200-day moving average of $26.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $645.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.52 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 11.08%. Element Solutions’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Element Solutions from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 39.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.