Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target for Eastman Chemical to $83 (from $84) while keeping a buy rating, implying roughly a 14.6% upside from the current share price.
• Across analysts the consensus is mixed—seven Buy ratings and eight Hold ratings—yielding an average analyst rating of Hold and an average price target of $80.00.
• Shares recently traded around $72.40; Eastman missed quarterly EPS by $0.01 and reported revenue down 12.1% year‑over‑year, while institutional investors own about 83.7% of the stock.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $84.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.64% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on EMN. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.00.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $72.40. The company had a trading volume of 403,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,697,509. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $74.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.27. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $56.11 and a 1 year high of $84.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 5.42%.The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 523,191 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,987,000 after buying an additional 24,458 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 65.5% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 109,042 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,875,000 after buying an additional 43,159 shares during the last quarter. QSM Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. QSM Asset Management Ltd now owns 120,258 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,676,000 after acquiring an additional 25,550 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 42.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 47,788 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 14,294 shares during the period. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,353.7% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 37,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 35,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

Eastman Chemical Company NYSE: EMN is a global specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers. Its product portfolio spans performance additives, functional products, and engineered plastics designed to enhance the durability, appearance and performance of end products across diverse industries.

The company's main business activities include the production of specialty chemicals used in adhesives, coatings, building materials and consumer care applications, as well as high-performance plastics for packaging, automotive and electronics markets.

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