Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at KeyCorp

KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:ESI opened at $18.24 on Thursday. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.72 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.16.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued 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 company had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 60,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26,753 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $423,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Element Solutions by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,328,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,224,000 after acquiring an additional 29,253 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 11,702 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $433,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.