GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Key Points

• GHP Investment Advisors cut its stake in Eastman Chemical by 73.1% in Q4, selling 21,712 shares and leaving it with 8,008 shares worth about $511,000.
• Analysts' consensus rating is Hold with a $80 consensus target, though UBS upgraded EMN to a Buy and raised its target to $88.
• Eastman slightly missed Q4 EPS ($0.75 vs. $0.76 expected) with revenue down 12.1% YoY, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.84 (annualized $3.36) for a 4.5% yield and an 82.15% payout ratio.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 73.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,008 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 21,712 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 301.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,756 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 11,076 shares during the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,429 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 237.4% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,248 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EMN. UBS Group upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised Eastman Chemical from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.1%

EMN opened at $73.85 on Monday. Eastman Chemical Company has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $84.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Eastman Chemical's payout ratio is currently 82.15%.

Eastman Chemical Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EMN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.