Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Short Interest Up 25.0% in May

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the April 30th total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EMN. Wall Street Zen downgraded Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $108.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $120.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.54.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.7%

EMN stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.88. 1,941,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,163,080. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.25. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The business's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth about $1,918,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the first quarter valued at about $4,588,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 5,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 28.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1,282.4% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 4,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.