Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $113.92.

Several brokerages have recently commented on EMN. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $91.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.18. 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 (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.