Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $92.67, but opened at $100.93. Eastman Chemical shares last traded at $99.52, with a volume of 219,725 shares.

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 net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EMN. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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. Citigroup downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 in the last ninety days. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,104.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 933,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $104,560,000 after purchasing an additional 856,432 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 935,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,755,000 after buying an additional 340,562 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 5.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $593,233,000 after acquiring an additional 282,458 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 492.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after acquiring an additional 177,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 443.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,716,000 after buying an additional 129,112 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44.

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.