Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a buy rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $101.41.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:EMN opened at $97.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $68.89 and a fifty-two week high of $102.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.56.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.95%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 19.5% in the third quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.