Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $81.19 and last traded at $81.41, with a volume of 340899 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.83.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 5.6 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. On average, research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EMN. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 227.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,543,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 151.3% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 9,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 5,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QSM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $6,052,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.