Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Eastman Chemical Call Options (NYSE:EMN)

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 6,066 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 888% compared to the average volume of 614 call options.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 2.3 %

EMN stock traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.98. 1,546,232 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,046,600. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.83. The company has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $70.90 and a twelve month high of $114.50. 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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $150,537,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $137,848,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $137,416,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 3,136.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 736,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,213,000 after acquiring an additional 713,272 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,886,564 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $537,561,000 after purchasing an additional 697,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EMN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.15.

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.