Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target Increased to $103.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its target price upped by Barclays from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set a buy rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $104.18.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:EMN traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $100.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,783. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $95.26 and a 200-day moving average of $87.55. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $68.89 and a 52-week high of $102.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,839,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,332,904,000 after acquiring an additional 61,580 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,038 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,978,856 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,258,000 after purchasing an additional 39,860 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,795,824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $214,496,000 after buying an additional 760,974 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,575,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $231,357,000 after acquiring an additional 168,009 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.