Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Bought by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth $236,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth about $219,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 11.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,523,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EMN has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock opened at $88.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.43 and a 200-day moving average of $99.19. The company has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $85.84 and a 12-month high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.23%.

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.