Short Interest in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Drops By 5.8%

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,580,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 3,800,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:ESI opened at $23.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.11 and a 200-day moving average of $22.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Element Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $25.81.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $573.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.43 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 5.06% and a return on equity of 13.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Element Solutions

In other news, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $27,120.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 146,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,090.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Element Solutions news, CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 1,410 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $32,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 177,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,109,021.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Goralski sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $27,120.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,297 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,090.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,203 shares of company stock worth $2,255,110 in the last 90 days. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Element Solutions by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions by 370.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 95.9% in 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. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESI. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.60.

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.