Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.70 and last traded at $20.77, with a volume of 425000 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Element Solutions Trading Down 9.4 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.18 and a 200-day moving average of $26.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,983,000 after buying an additional 1,369,981 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $29,818,000. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $29,800,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,169,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $13,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.