Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Given New $103.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $101.00 to $103.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EMN. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $101.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $80.89 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.07. The company has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.