3,389 Shares in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Purchased by Bridgefront Capital LLC

Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN – Get Rating) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 3,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,002,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $897,902,000 after buying an additional 156,797 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.6% in the third quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,620,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $257,224,000 after purchasing an additional 158,270 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.9% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,236,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $200,762,000 after purchasing an additional 63,695 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,906,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $135,447,000 after purchasing an additional 86,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,863,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,421,000 after purchasing an additional 12,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $81.96 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $69.91 and a 52-week high of $114.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.48.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 7.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 50.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $94.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.78.

Eastman Chemical Profile

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Eastman Chemical Co engages in the provision of specialty chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Advanced Material (AM), Additives and Functional Products (AFP), Chemical Intermediates (CI), and Fibers. The AM segment produces and markets its polymers, films, and plastics with differentiated performance properties for value-added end uses in transportation, consumables, building and construction, durable goods, and health and wellness markets.