Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.81.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EMN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

EMN stock opened at $96.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.16. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $68.89 and a fifty-two week high of $102.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth $121,847,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,795,824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $214,496,000 after purchasing an additional 760,974 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,047,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 274.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 249,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,375,000 after buying an additional 391,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1,031.0% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 333,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,598,000 after buying an additional 304,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.