Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Given New $103.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $101.00 to $103.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on EMN. Mizuho increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.54.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $101.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.09. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $81.00 and a 12 month high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.