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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on EMN. Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eastman Chemical from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.15.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $77.98. 1,546,232 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,045,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.09 and a 200 day moving average of $93.94. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $70.90 and a 1 year high of $114.50.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EMN. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.