Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,190,000 shares, an increase of 25.1% from the May 31st total of 4,150,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESI opened at $26.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $17.57 and a fifty-two week high of $27.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.91. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 49.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $588.17 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 5.62%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 59.26%.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Castleark Management LLC raised its stake in Element Solutions by 13.3% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 286,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,146,000 after acquiring an additional 33,590 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 3.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,259,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,453,000 after acquiring an additional 41,718 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,527,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Element Solutions by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 121,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,037,000 after purchasing an additional 26,104 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESI has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Element Solutions Company Profile

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.