Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the December 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ESI shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Element Solutions from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Element Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.83.

Element Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE ESI traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.96. The company had a trading volume of 788,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,110. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.88 and its 200 day moving average is $26.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $21.42 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 11.08%. The firm had revenue of $645.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Element Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $453,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Element Solutions by 455.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 49,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 40,986 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,109,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 971,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,347,000 after buying an additional 127,414 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 103,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 6,546 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is 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.