Independent Advisor Alliance Acquires 14,447 Shares of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN)

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Eastman Chemical Company by 571.7%, acquiring 14,447 shares for a total of $1,496,000 in holdings.
• Eastman Chemical's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.60, which missed analysts' expectations of $1.72, and a revenue of $2.29 billion, below the forecast of $2.32 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, representing an annual yield of 5.2%, with a payout ratio of 46.63%.

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 571.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,447 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EMN. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,886,564 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $537,561,000 after buying an additional 697,388 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,385,591 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $217,850,000 after purchasing an additional 47,810 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,277,827 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $208,011,000 after purchasing an additional 35,793 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $137,848,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,377,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $125,784,000 after acquiring an additional 128,488 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.61. 1,414,096 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,572,046. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.71. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.21. Eastman Chemical Company has a 1-year low of $56.78 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 8.96%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on EMN shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $108.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.00.

Eastman Chemical 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.