Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.13.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EMN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE EMN opened at $96.01 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $68.89 and a twelve month high of $102.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.47.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 435.0% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. 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.