Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 509,290 Shares of Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 14.4%, buying 509,290 shares to hold 4,052,656 shares (about a 3.55% stake) valued at roughly $255.5 million.
• Several other large institutions (including Norges Bank, Allspring, Qube Research and First Trust) also added or initiated sizable positions, leaving institutional and hedge fund ownership at 83.65% of the company.
• Analysts are mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with a $79.21 price target even as several banks raised targets/ratings — and the company pays a $0.84 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.36, yield 4.8%) while recent results showed a slight EPS miss and revenue down 12.1% year-over-year.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,052,656 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 509,290 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.55% of Eastman Chemical worth $255,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the second quarter worth $121,060,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,011.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 943,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,489,000 after acquiring an additional 859,046 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,456.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 708,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,881,000 after purchasing an additional 662,783 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,547,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 96.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 438,804 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,761,000 after purchasing an additional 215,679 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.21.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $70.38 on Friday. Eastman Chemical Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.11 and a fifty-two week high of $99.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.15%.

About Eastman Chemical

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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