Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI)

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 8,007 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 746% compared to the average volume of 947 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Element Solutions from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong 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 $27.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin E. Franklin sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,510. This trade represents a 94.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Element Solutions by 549.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,619,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,981 shares during the period. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,818,000. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new stake in shares of Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $29,800,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Element Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $24,169,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $13,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Element Solutions stock opened at $18.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $16.77 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.57.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The business had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.24 million. Element Solutions had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.94%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.37%.

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.