Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) Shares Acquired by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) by 107.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,765 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,121 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESI. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 940.6% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the period. Finally, Caption Management LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ESI opened at $24.92 on Friday. Element Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.77 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The company had revenue of $625.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.38.

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.