Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Given “Neutral” Rating at Bank of America

Bank of America reissued their neutral rating on shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $28.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $32.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Element Solutions from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.83.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

ESI opened at $24.90 on Tuesday. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $21.42 and a twelve month high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.53.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $645.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $626.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Element Solutions by 149.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,934,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355,554 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its stake 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 valued at $67,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,607 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 549.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,981 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,364,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,889,000. 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.