Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,027,386 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,674 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.84% of Element Solutions worth $54,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Element Solutions by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Element Solutions by 14,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Element Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:ESI traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $26.27. 1,153,203 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,347,886. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 48.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions Inc has a 12 month low of $17.57 and a 12 month high of $28.68.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 8.24%. The firm had revenue of $613.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders 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 1.22%. Element Solutions's payout ratio is currently 59.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESI. Mizuho upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com raised Element Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.40.

Element Solutions Company Profile

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.