Quarry LP Increases Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Quarry LP increased its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,002 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. James J. Burns & Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $741,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at $3,319,000. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 44,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $593,233,000 after buying an additional 282,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 66,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,098,000 after buying an additional 9,279 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 6.2 %

NYSE:EMN opened at $75.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, 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 50 day simple moving average of $87.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.99. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.08.

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.