Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,440,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 4,150,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Element Solutions Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ESI traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $20.45. 749,750 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,256. The company has a quick ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Element Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 92.95, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.23.

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. Element Solutions had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $599.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $624.50 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Element Solutions will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Element Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 145.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Element Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet cut shares of Element Solutions from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Element Solutions news, Director Nichelle Maynard-Elliott sold 4,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.61, for a total transaction of $81,852.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $486,112.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $290,100,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $28,075,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,706 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $23,205,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,627,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,749,000 after purchasing an additional 984,222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.05% of the company’s stock.

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.