Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Reaches New 52-Week High at $25.14

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $25.14 and last traded at $24.99, with a volume of 168801 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESI. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. TheStreet upgraded Element Solutions from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.60.

Element Solutions Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 50.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $573.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.43 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 5.06%. Element Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 146,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,090.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 1,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $32,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 177,113 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,021.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $27,120.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,090.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,203 shares of company stock worth $2,255,110 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,719,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,756 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,232,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,154,000 after purchasing an additional 798,662 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,138,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,756,000 after purchasing an additional 163,426 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,684,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,390,000 after purchasing an additional 188,350 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Element Solutions by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,362,000 after buying an additional 1,412,706 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.