Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.75.

Element Solutions Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of ESI opened at $33.35 on Friday. Element Solutions has a one year low of $16.77 and a one year high of $37.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.68. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $676.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.40 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.48%.Element Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.51%.

Insider Activity at Element Solutions

In related news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.52, for a total transaction of $5,099,393.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 147,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,250,992.64. This represents a 49.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.