IFG Advisory LLC Trims Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

IFG Advisory LLC lessened its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,670 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 435.0% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 134.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.75.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $99.58 on Thursday. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $68.89 and a 52 week high of $100.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

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.