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

StockNews.com cut shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.92.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $88.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $80.71 and a 12-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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.79.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,104.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 933,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $104,560,000 after acquiring an additional 856,432 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 201.5% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 924,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,572,000 after acquiring an additional 617,889 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 57.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 935,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $104,755,000 after acquiring an additional 340,562 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $593,233,000 after purchasing an additional 282,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 852,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $83,524,000 after purchasing an additional 218,531 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.