Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Upgraded at KeyCorp

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

ESI has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

Element Solutions Stock Down 9.4 %

ESI opened at $18.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.18 and a 200-day moving average of $26.15. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $17.72 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,510. This represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,981 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd acquired a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,818,000. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,800,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,169,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.