LSV Asset Management Cuts Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,700,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 221,919 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 1.43% of Eastman Chemical worth $152,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EMN. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 426.6% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EMN shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.12.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.50. The stock had a trading volume of 859,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,148. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.54. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $68.89 and a 1 year high of $102.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eastman Chemical 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.