StockNews.com Downgrades Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) to Hold

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EMN. Citigroup lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

EMN stock opened at $88.52 on Wednesday. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $80.71 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.87. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. Eastman Chemical’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. 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.