Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Stock Price Down 5.5% - Should You Sell?

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.50 and last traded at $23.35. 2,084,761 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 1,601,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.14.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.31.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The business had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $52,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESI. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Element Solutions by 610.7% in the 4th 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. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.