Brokerages Set Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Target Price at $97.13

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.81.

Several research firms recently commented on EMN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $96.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $68.89 and a one year high of $102.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $92.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.