StockNews.com Downgrades Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

ESI has been the subject of several other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.40.

Element Solutions Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:ESI opened at $26.97 on Thursday. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $17.76 and a 52 week high of $28.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.91 and its 200-day moving average is $25.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The business had revenue of $613.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 59.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT raised its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 13.4% in the third quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 290,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 34,362 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Element Solutions by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 4,893 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $151,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $1,161,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $113,000. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

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.