The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Price Target to $29.00

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.00 to $29.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ESI. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $29.40.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESI opened at $27.12 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.63. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $17.57 and a 52 week high of $27.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.29.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 5.62%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $588.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 59.26%.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESI. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Castleark Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 286,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,146,000 after buying an additional 33,590 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,259,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,453,000 after buying an additional 41,718 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Element Solutions in the first quarter valued at $44,527,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Element Solutions by 27.4% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 121,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 26,104 shares in the last quarter. 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.