Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $102.00 to $105.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho upped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Eastman Chemical stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $100.99. The stock had a trading volume of 829,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,509. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $94.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.13. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $83.38 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 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 (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,886,564 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $537,561,000 after acquiring an additional 697,388 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,785,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $528,310,000 after acquiring an additional 565,821 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $595,820,000 after acquiring an additional 70,692 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,844,165 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $259,729,000 after acquiring an additional 284,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,843,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $259,669,000 after acquiring an additional 109,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.