Brokerages Set Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Target Price at $29.40

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.40.

ESI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th.

Element Solutions Price Performance

ESI stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.98. 527,633 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,339,557. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.47. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions has a one year low of $17.57 and a one year high of $28.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $613.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.95 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Element Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 39.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Marshall Wace LLP increased 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 valued at $106,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355,554 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,527,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,364,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $143,458,000 after acquiring an additional 676,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,134,112 shares of the company's stock worth $30,757,000 after acquiring an additional 344,017 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.