Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $113.54.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $741,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 492.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,863,000 after buying an additional 177,207 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,319,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,383,000 after acquiring an additional 19,809 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $101.33 on Thursday. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The stock has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.25 and its 200-day moving average is $100.17.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

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.