Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.69.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $87.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $97.83 and its 200-day moving average is $100.50. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $80.71 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948 over the last three months. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 52.6% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.