Brokerages Set Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target at $97.13

Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.81.

Several research firms have issued reports on EMN. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 435.0% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE EMN opened at $96.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $68.89 and a 12-month high of $102.71. The firm has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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.