Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC substantially increased its stake in Eastman Chemical, acquiring 81,458 shares in the first quarter, raising its ownership to approximately 0.09% of the company.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Eastman Chemical, with the average target now at $87.00, indicating a "Moderate Buy" rating by analysts.
• Eastman Chemical announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, representing a dividend yield of 4.9%, with payments scheduled for October 7th.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 468.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 81,458 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Eastman Chemical worth $8,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 11,261.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 476,939 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,023,000 after purchasing an additional 472,741 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter valued at $26,289,000. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter valued at $22,167,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,588,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $228,042,000 after purchasing an additional 202,740 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 5,315.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 200,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,623,000 after purchasing an additional 196,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,631,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,958. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.58 and its 200 day moving average is $78.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Eastman Chemical Company has a twelve month low of $56.78 and a twelve month high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.12). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 8.96%.The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Eastman Chemical has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.250-1.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EMN. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. KeyCorp set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $92.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.00.

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.