Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $125.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $102.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.81% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.82.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $95.56 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.47. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $68.89 and a 52-week high of $102.71. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.95% and a net margin of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Eastman Chemical’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 5.8% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 136,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,702,000 after buying an additional 7,494 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the first quarter valued at $386,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 3.0% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 58,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,840,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth about $1,967,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth about $719,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.