Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $22.93 and last traded at $23.60, with a volume of 6807221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.14.

Element Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.31.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 60,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26,753 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,328,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,224,000 after buying an additional 29,253 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 11,702 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $433,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 108,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,938,000 after acquiring an additional 52,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

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.