Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Raised to Strong-Buy at KeyCorp

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ESI. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given 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 $30.00.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Element Solutions stock opened at $20.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.21. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date 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 Element Solutions 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. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Element Solutions by 2.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 52,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Element Solutions by 81.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 11,004 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $542,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,724,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Element Solutions by 432.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 4,897 shares during the period. 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.