Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Element Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.98 and last traded at $27.9440, with a volume of 2769666 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ESI shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Fermium Researc upgraded Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.75.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 4.05, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.34.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In other news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $984,200.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken sold 292,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $7,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 306,880 shares in the company, valued at $8,285,760. This represents a 48.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 154.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 710.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Company Profile

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.