Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Reaches New 1-Year High at $100.75

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $100.75 and last traded at $100.14, with a volume of 133210 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EMN shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.75.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.56. The stock has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 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 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 analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 22,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $376,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 32,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 11,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 595,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,502,000 after purchasing an additional 79,676 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is 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.