Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

ESI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their target price on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Element Solutions in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet raised Element Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Element Solutions stock opened at $23.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.63. Element Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.53 and a 1 year high of $25.81. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.32.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.62% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $588.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.26%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,090.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Element Solutions news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $27,120.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,090.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 14,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $342,756.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,979,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,203 shares of company stock worth $2,255,110 over the last 90 days. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 370.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 1,585.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

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.