Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $92.67, but opened at $100.93. Eastman Chemical shares last traded at $99.52, with a volume of 219,725 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,430. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 over the last quarter. 1.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 7.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.80 and a 200 day moving average of $100.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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.