Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target to $100.00

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $89.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on EMN. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Eastman Chemical in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a buy rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $97.81.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $97.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 52-week low of $68.89 and a 52-week high of $102.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued 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 3.34%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.