Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Sets New 1-Year High at $27.19

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.19 and last traded at $27.03, with a volume of 17132 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.60.

Element Solutions Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.27 and its 200 day moving average is $23.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.62% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $588.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Element Solutions’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 59.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,684,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,390,000 after purchasing an additional 188,350 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Element Solutions by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,762,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,782,000 after purchasing an additional 118,237 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Element Solutions by 10,622.4% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 848,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,636,000 after purchasing an additional 840,653 shares during the period. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Element Solutions by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,700,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,497,000 after purchasing an additional 150,567 shares during the period. Finally, Albar Capital Ltd lifted its position in Element Solutions by 100.2% during the fourth quarter. Albar Capital Ltd now owns 797,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,452,000 after purchasing an additional 399,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products.