Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $92.67, but opened at $100.93. Eastman Chemical shares last traded at $99.52, with a volume of 219,725 shares.

The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on EMN. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,430. The trade was a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of Eastman Chemical 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 directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 7.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44.

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.