Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $24.85, but opened at $25.75. Element Solutions shares last traded at $24.94, with a volume of 1,047,914 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ESI shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.14.

Element Solutions Trading Up 1.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The business had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions by 610.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 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.