Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.98 and last traded at $27.9440, with a volume of 2769666 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ESI shares. CJS Securities raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Fermium Researc upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Element Solutions Trading Up 1.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.34. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $656.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.13 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 14.01%. Element Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In other Element Solutions news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,122,653.80. The trade was a 23.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $7,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 306,880 shares in the company, valued at $8,285,760. This represents a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 459.4% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 8,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 339.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,098,000 after buying an additional 344,950 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,894,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,825,000 after acquiring an additional 712,466 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $676,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the first quarter worth $281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company’s solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.