KeyCorp Upgrades Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) to “Strong-Buy”

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) was upgraded by research analysts at KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Element Solutions Trading Down 11.3 %

NYSE ESI opened at $20.13 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.34 and its 200-day moving average is $26.21. Element Solutions has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $29.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.24 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $52,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 610.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

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.