Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 10,251 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 813% compared to the average daily volume of 1,123 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Eastman Chemical from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 24.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,687,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $363,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,391 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 7.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,936,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $376,747,000 after purchasing an additional 338,914 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,722,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,637,000 after buying an additional 20,634 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,592,691 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $196,552,000 after buying an additional 732,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,476,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,909,000 after buying an additional 143,323 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:EMN traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.74. 398,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,484,833. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.35. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $56.11 and a one year high of $83.47. The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 4.62%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Eastman Chemical has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.39%.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) is a global specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers. Its product portfolio spans performance additives, functional products, and engineered plastics designed to enhance the durability, appearance and performance of end products across diverse industries.

The company’s main business activities include the production of specialty chemicals used in adhesives, coatings, building materials and consumer care applications, as well as high-performance plastics for packaging, automotive and electronics markets.