Piper Sandler Lowers Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target to $102.00

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its target price decreased by Piper Sandler from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EMN. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.69.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.2 %

EMN opened at $88.45 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $98.50 and a 200-day moving average of $100.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $80.71 and a 1-year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at $259,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,588,000 after purchasing an additional 9,447 shares in the last quarter. 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.