Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Short Interest Update

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. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $1,430,674.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,341,964. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 14,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $342,756.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,979,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $1,430,674.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,395 shares in the company, valued at $16,341,964. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,203 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,110 in the last quarter. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Element Solutions by 85.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Element Solutions by 370.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Element Solutions from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.60.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:ESI opened at $23.77 on Thursday. The company 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 quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $25.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.03.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $573.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.43 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 5.06%. Element Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

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

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.