Acadian Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 262.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EMN. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.07.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $106.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.37. The firm has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $68.89 and a 1-year high of $108.81.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 9.65%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 41.75%.

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.