Romano Brothers AND Company Sells 650 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Romano Brothers AND Company trimmed its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 345.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 76,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,366,000 after buying an additional 58,968 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.3% in the second quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 34,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,858,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Tlwm increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tlwm now owns 8,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 39,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.70. 137,126 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 950,314. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.49. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $69.91 and a one year high of $92.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.51.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.04. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 7.21%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 53.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on EMN shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Eastman Chemical from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, June 12th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $109.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.87.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers hydrocarbon resins; organic acid-based solutions; amine derivative-based building blocks; metam-based soil fumigants, thiram and ziram based fungicides, and plant growth regulators; specialty coalescent, specialty and commodity solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; heat transfer and aviation fluids; insoluble sulfur and anti-degradant rubber additives; and performance resins.