Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) is Southport Management L.L.C.’s 3rd Largest Position

Southport Management L.L.C. lessened its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Eastman Chemical makes up approximately 5.2% of Southport Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Southport Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EMN. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,537,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,848,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,416,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 3,136.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 736,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,213,000 after buying an additional 713,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,886,564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $537,561,000 after buying an additional 697,388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $81.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $70.90 and a 52-week high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EMN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $108.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $120.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.15.

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.