Valley National Advisers Inc. Decreases Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Valley National Advisers Inc. cut its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 63.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,689 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth $220,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth $221,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth $632,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth $523,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 13.3% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 37,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,209,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $105.43 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.80. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $69.25 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EMN shares. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.20.

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.