Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Receives $30.83 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.83.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESI. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Element Solutions Price Performance

ESI stock opened at $26.13 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.49. Element Solutions has a 12-month low of $21.42 and a 12-month high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $645.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.52 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 14.42%. Element Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 149.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,934,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355,554 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 162.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 2,470,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,085,000 after buying an additional 1,529,607 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $43,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,981 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,364,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,889,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.