Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Rating Increased to Outperform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $91.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, April 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.75.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 6.6 %

NYSE:EMN traded down $5.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.09. 1,191,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,002,220. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 83.65% of the stock is 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.