Walnut Level Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Walnut Level Capital LLC lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 161,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Eastman Chemical accounts for about 5.6% of Walnut Level Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Walnut Level Capital LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $14,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,820,000 after purchasing an additional 70,692 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $593,233,000 after acquiring an additional 282,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $310,628,000 after acquiring an additional 13,381 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $150,537,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,265,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,556,000 after acquiring an additional 51,367 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 1.5 %

EMN stock opened at $88.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.92 and a 200 day moving average of $99.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $86.70 and a 52 week 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 16.27%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EMN shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

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.