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

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,720,000 shares, a growth of 72.2% from the February 28th total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Element Solutions Trading Down 2.7 %

Element Solutions stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,691,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,691,909. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.31. Element Solutions has a 1-year low of $22.71 and a 1-year high of $29.78. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted 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. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. As a group, analysts expect that Element Solutions will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.37%.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $52,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,510. The trade was a 94.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 60,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26,753 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Element Solutions by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 172,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after purchasing an additional 49,466 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Element Solutions by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,328,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,224,000 after purchasing an additional 29,253 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 11,702 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $433,000. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESI shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.14.

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.