Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyElement Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ESI – Get Free Report)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $39.91 and last traded at $39.8950, with a volume of 1070344 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.98.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
ESI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Element Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Element Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.75.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Element Solutions
Element Solutions Price Performance
The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 3.68 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.23.
Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 7.48%.The firm had revenue of $676.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Element Solutions Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 40.51%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director E Stanley Oneal sold 143,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 147,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,250,992.64. The trade was a 49.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 125,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 51,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.