Barclays PLC Increases Stock Position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 96.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,174 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,973 shares during the period. Barclays PLC's holdings in Element Solutions were worth $2,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,289,741 shares of the company's stock worth $143,458,000 after purchasing an additional 676,432 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,319,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,320,000 after purchasing an additional 230,793 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Element Solutions by 149.2% in the second 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 period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 162.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 2,470,003 shares of the company's stock worth $67,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,299,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,458,000 after buying an additional 38,859 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ESI stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $25.74. The stock had a trading volume of 524,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,710. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.66. Element Solutions Inc has a one year low of $21.42 and a one year high of $29.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.77.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $645.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $626.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ESI shares. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Element Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research raised Element Solutions from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.40.

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.