Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.75.

Element Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ESI opened at $38.89 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.18 and its 200 day moving average is $29.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 49.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.23. Element Solutions has a 12-month low of $17.77 and a 12-month high of $39.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $676.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.40 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.48%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Element Solutions news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 147,832 shares in the company, valued at $5,250,992.64. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 154.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 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.