State of Alaska Department of Revenue Boosts Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 84.2% in Q4 to 100,129 shares, valued at about $6.39 million, signaling notable institutional buying.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: several firms (JPMorgan, BofA, Citi) have raised ratings or price targets, but the consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $80.08.
• Eastman slightly missed Q4 expectations (EPS $0.75 vs. $0.76; revenue down 12.1% YoY) and pays a $0.84 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.36) for a 4.6% dividend yield with an 82% payout ratio.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 84.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,774 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned 0.09% of Eastman Chemical worth $6,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 12,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,310 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.2% in the third quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.08.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of EMN opened at $73.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.37. Eastman Chemical Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.11 and a fifty-two week high of $84.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.23.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Eastman Chemical's payout ratio is presently 82.15%.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.

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