Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on EMN. KeyCorp raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $107.50.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of EMN opened at $98.07 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $68.89 and a 12 month high of $105.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $99.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.63. The firm has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Eastman Chemical’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total value of $195,959.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total value of $195,959.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 395,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,878,545.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,027 shares of company stock worth $10,885,638 over the last quarter. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% during 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 acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.