Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $80.82, but opened at $77.14. Eastman Chemical shares last traded at $76.84, with a volume of 273,836 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Eastman Chemical from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $112.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.15.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical's payout ratio is 42.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 384.4% during 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 purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

About Eastman Chemical

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.