Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Boosts Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $9,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EMN. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of EMN traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 698,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,485. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.72 and its 200-day moving average is $85.62. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $68.89 and a 52-week high of $102.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.81.

Eastman Chemical 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.