Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Short Interest Up 56.1% in November

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, an increase of 56.1% from the October 31st total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 946,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.86.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE:EMN traded up $0.49 on Friday, reaching $104.72. 498,661 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,118,542. The firm has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.72. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $80.71 and a 12 month high of $114.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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 valued at $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

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.