Element Solutions Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ESI)

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 3,062 put options on the company. This is an increase of 561% compared to the average volume of 463 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ESI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Element Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,289,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,458,000 after purchasing an additional 676,432 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Element Solutions by 6.6% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,106,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,490,000 after acquiring an additional 315,645 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 149.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,934,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355,554 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Element Solutions by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 3,762,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,067,000 after buying an additional 979,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 16.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,061,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,485,000 after purchasing an additional 298,668 shares during the period. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

ESI traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 462,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,353,241. Element Solutions has a 52-week low of $17.57 and a 52-week high of $28.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.23. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 8.24%. The business had revenue of $613.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 59.26%.

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.