JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock Price

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $110.00 to $112.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

EMN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.54.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.1 %

EMN opened at $101.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $114.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.08.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.