Crestline Management LP Takes $3.06 Million Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Crestline Management LP bought a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 33,478 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,057,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 837 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,505 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,268 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,198,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,914. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $70.90 and a one year high of $114.50. The company has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EMN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $108.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.15.

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.