Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Short Interest Update

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the August 31st total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 149.2% during the 2nd 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. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter worth $44,527,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the second quarter worth $32,364,000. Glenview Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 3,762,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,067,000 after acquiring an additional 979,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Element Solutions by 10,622.4% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 848,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,636,000 after acquiring an additional 840,653 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Element Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Element Solutions Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ESI traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,740,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,975. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.38. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.57 and a twelve month high of $28.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 8.24%. The business had revenue of $613.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Element Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 59.26%.

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.