Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

ESI has been the topic of several other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Element Solutions from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.40.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:ESI opened at $25.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.17 and a 200 day moving average of $26.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Element Solutions has a 1-year low of $21.42 and a 1-year high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The firm had revenue of $645.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.44 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, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions in the second quarter worth about $5,668,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 172,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after acquiring an additional 49,466 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,161,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 96.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 108,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 52,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Element Solutions by 2.3% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,173,000 after purchasing an additional 41,309 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.