Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.14.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Element Solutions stock opened at $26.12 on Monday. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $23.09 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.38. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. As a group, analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 162.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 2,470,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,085,000 after buying an additional 1,529,607 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,983,000 after buying an additional 1,369,981 shares during the period. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,818,000. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,800,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,169,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Element Solutions

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.