Investors Purchase High Volume of Element Solutions Put Options (NYSE:ESI)

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 15,011 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,855% compared to the average volume of 508 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESI. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Element Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Element Solutions by 610.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Element Solutions Stock Up 2.0 %

Element Solutions stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,950,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,506. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $23.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.71 and its 200-day moving average is $26.37.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.24 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Element Solutions will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Element Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

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.