Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $104.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $118.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on EMN. Mizuho raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Eastman Chemical stock traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $91.52. 99,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,052. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $80.71 and a 52-week high of $114.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.82 and its 200 day moving average is $101.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $595,820,000 after buying an additional 70,692 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $593,233,000 after buying an additional 282,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $310,628,000 after buying an additional 13,381 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,093,000 after acquiring an additional 83,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,435,000 after acquiring an additional 198,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids.