Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price 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 six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.69.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of EMN opened at $87.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.43. 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 has a 1 year low of $80.71 and a 1 year high of $114.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 30.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 52.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.