Xponance Inc. Raises Stake in Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI)

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,607 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,168 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Element Solutions were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP grew its holdings in Element Solutions by 162.7% during the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 2,470,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,607 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Element Solutions by 549.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,981 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $24,169,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the third quarter worth about $14,553,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Element Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,573,000. 92.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESI shares. Barclays cut their price target on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Element Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.14.

Element Solutions Price Performance

ESI opened at $23.60 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.31. Element Solutions Inc has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. Equities analysts predict that Element Solutions Inc 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, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,510. This represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Element Solutions 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.