Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $113.92.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. 2.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,588,000 after purchasing an additional 9,447 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter worth about $280,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $593,233,000 after acquiring an additional 282,458 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $656,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 26,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.4 %

EMN stock opened at $91.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $80.71 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $101.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

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

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.