Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target Lowered to $108.00 at Barclays

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) had its price target cut by Barclays from $111.00 to $108.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on EMN. Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.54.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE EMN traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $101.21. The stock had a trading volume of 982,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,877. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $81.00 and a 52-week high of $114.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.08.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 837 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.3% in the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,505 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

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.