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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on EMN. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho boosted their price target 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. Bank of America lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.69.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $87.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.55 and a 200-day moving average of $100.44. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $80.71 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted 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. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in 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 during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 30.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 52.6% in the third 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 during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.