Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $4.04 Million Investment in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 44,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EMN. James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $741,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $3,319,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 492.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 177,207 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 44,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,093,000 after purchasing an additional 83,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN opened at $89.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.79. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $86.70 and a 12-month high of $114.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.