Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,412 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EMN. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during 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 last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 784.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 168.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $100.99 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $83.38 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.15.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EMN shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

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.