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

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ESI traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.98. 3,771,271 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,089,350. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.52. The company has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.57 and a twelve month high of $28.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $613.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.95 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Element Solutions by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,289,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,458,000 after acquiring an additional 676,432 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,106,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,490,000 after purchasing an additional 315,645 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 149.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,934,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355,554 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 16.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,061,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,485,000 after buying an additional 298,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the first quarter worth $44,527,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by 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.