Kera Capital Partners Inc. Acquires New Shares in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EMN. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 492.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after buying an additional 177,207 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,383,000 after acquiring an additional 19,809 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 21.0% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 46,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at $632,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $93.22 on Monday. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.71 and a one year high of $114.50. The company has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.52 and a 200-day moving average of $100.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on EMN. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 decreased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Profile

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.