GW&K Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,562,889 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,962 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 1.06% of Element Solutions worth $65,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Element Solutions by 610.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESI. StockNews.com raised shares of Element Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.14.

Element Solutions Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ESI opened at $25.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.38. Element Solutions Inc has a 1 year low of $23.09 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 31.37%.

Element Solutions 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.