Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.77 and last traded at $19.35, with a volume of 7658207 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America upgraded Element Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upgraded Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.88.

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Element Solutions Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.34. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.73.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.24 million. On average, analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESI. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 610.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other 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.