JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock Price

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $110.00 to $112.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on EMN. UBS Group lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.79.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 1.2 %

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $100.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.03. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.89 and a one year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948 over the last three months. 2.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.