Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 14,898 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,898 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.08% of Eastman Chemical worth $8,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on EMN shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $96.79 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.93. The company has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.35. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $68.89 and a fifty-two week high of $102.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

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.