Mizuho Boosts Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Price Target to $29.00

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) had its target price boosted by analysts at Mizuho from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.79% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ESI. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Element Solutions from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Fermium Researc upgraded Element Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.63.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESI opened at $26.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.04. The company has a quick ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.31. Element Solutions has a 52 week low of $16.77 and a 52 week high of $29.78.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The business had revenue of $625.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Element Solutions

In related news, EVP Matthew Liebowitz sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total value of $1,327,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 57,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,522,722.15. This represents a 46.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey J. Dorman sold 40,725 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $1,085,728.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 214,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,727,554.42. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 168,399 shares of company stock valued at $4,492,561. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Element Solutions in the second quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Element Solutions by 710.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Element Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Element Solutions by 462.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. 92.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.