State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 18,487 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,487 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $105.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.98. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $68.89 and a 12-month high of $107.11.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.99 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EMN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.07.

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.