Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Short Interest Down 6.1% in December

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a decline of 6.1% from the December 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESI shares. StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Element Solutions from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.83.

Element Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ESI stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.96. 788,038 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,110. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $21.42 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.88 and its 200-day moving average is $26.51. 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 company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 39.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.