Steph & Co. Trims Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Steph & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 9,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Tlwm increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tlwm now owns 8,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $91.96 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $96.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.29. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $80.71 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.92.

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.