Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

EMN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.69.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $87.25 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.43. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.71 and a one year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,820,000 after purchasing an additional 70,692 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $593,233,000 after acquiring an additional 282,458 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $310,628,000 after acquiring an additional 13,381 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,093,000 after acquiring an additional 83,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $223,435,000 after purchasing an additional 198,645 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.