Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 24,458 Shares of Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 523,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,458 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.46% of Eastman Chemical worth $32,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 0.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,659,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,094,485,000 after purchasing an additional 79,988 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,509,000 after buying an additional 191,461 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,955,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,252,000 after buying an additional 39,510 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,934,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $219,124,000 after buying an additional 155,574 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 6.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,476,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,909,000 after acquiring an additional 143,323 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE EMN opened at $71.48 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.95. The firm has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Eastman Chemical Company has a 1 year low of $56.11 and a 1 year high of $103.82.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 5.42%.The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Eastman Chemical from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $70.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.00.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) is a global specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers. Its product portfolio spans performance additives, functional products, and engineered plastics designed to enhance the durability, appearance and performance of end products across diverse industries.

The company’s main business activities include the production of specialty chemicals used in adhesives, coatings, building materials and consumer care applications, as well as high-performance plastics for packaging, automotive and electronics markets.