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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on EMN. Bank of America downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.86.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $102.90 on Tuesday. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $80.71 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 over the last ninety days. 2.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third 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. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.