Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on EMN. Bank of America cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.6 %

EMN stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.32. 973,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,374. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.89 and its 200 day moving average is $100.95. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $80.71 and a twelve month high of $114.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 19.84 % 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 worth $1,895,948 over the last ninety days. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in 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.