UBS Group Cuts Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Price Target to $25.00

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $31.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

ESI has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Element Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.88.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESI opened at $18.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.65 and a 200-day moving average of $25.57. Element Solutions has a 12 month low of $16.77 and a 12 month high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

Insider Activity

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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 13.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Element Solutions by 110.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 30,953 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $326,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter worth $623,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at $1,873,000. Institutional investors 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.