Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $92.67, but opened at $100.93. Eastman Chemical shares last traded at $99.52, with a volume of 219,725 shares trading hands.

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 return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 9.65%.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EMN. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.64.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 2.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $595,820,000 after buying an additional 70,692 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 holdings 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 valued at $310,628,000 after buying an additional 13,381 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 3.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $306,093,000 after buying an additional 83,504 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 51,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $94.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.03.

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.