Brokerages Set Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target at $97.13

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.81.

EMN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock opened at $96.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $92.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.93. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $68.89 and a 12-month high of $102.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the first quarter valued at $34,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.