StockNews.com Upgrades Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) to “Buy”

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.75.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $101.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,019,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,041. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $68.89 and a one year high of $105.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.46.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 14.06%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total value of $195,959.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total value of $195,959.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,027 shares of company stock valued at $10,885,638 over the last 90 days. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,839,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,332,904,000 after buying an additional 61,580 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 649.8% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,511,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,909,740 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,038 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,575,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $231,357,000 after purchasing an additional 168,009 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,199,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $220,478,000 after purchasing an additional 217,720 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.