Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Given New $32.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) had its price target increased by BMO Capital Markets from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Element Solutions stock opened at $27.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.57. Element Solutions has a 1-year low of $17.76 and a 1-year high of $28.68.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 8.24%. The company had revenue of $645.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 59.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Element Solutions by 8.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions by 107.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 105,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 54,686 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 559,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,185,000 after purchasing an additional 190,350 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Element Solutions by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 46,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iridian Asset Management LLC CT boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 290,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,897,000 after buying an additional 34,362 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.