Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

ESI has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Element Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.40.

Element Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:ESI traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.99. 1,339,339 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,369,685. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.38 and its 200-day moving average is $25.10. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. Element Solutions has a 1-year low of $17.57 and a 1-year high of $28.68.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESI. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Element Solutions by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Element Solutions by 1,585.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,902 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.