Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EMN. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EMN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $112.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $120.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.15.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $76.15 on Tuesday. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

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.