Royce & Associates LP Grows Position in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,440,533 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,312 shares during the quarter. Element Solutions accounts for approximately 0.6% of Royce & Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.01% of Element Solutions worth $62,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 610.7% during the 4th 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. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Element Solutions by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Up 3.7 %

ESI stock opened at $26.17 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.35. Element Solutions Inc has a 12 month low of $23.10 and a 12 month high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The business had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Equities analysts expect that Element Solutions Inc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ESI. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.14.

Element Solutions 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.