Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 74,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Eastman Chemical at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EMN. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 93,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,578,000 after purchasing an additional 22,097 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 434,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,670,000 after buying an additional 6,961 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,265,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,556,000 after buying an additional 51,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 3,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE EMN opened at $90.42 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $86.70 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on EMN. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

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.