UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) had its price target hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $80.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.46% from the company’s current price.

EMN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.31.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $74.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.19 and a 200-day moving average of $67.02. The company has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $56.11 and a one year high of $84.18.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 5.42%.The company had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EMN. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3,448.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,695,842 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $95,621,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 24.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,687,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $363,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,391 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,859,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,672,000 after acquiring an additional 916,023 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 101.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,425,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,009,000 after acquiring an additional 718,502 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) is a global specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers. Its product portfolio spans performance additives, functional products, and engineered plastics designed to enhance the durability, appearance and performance of end products across diverse industries.

The company’s main business activities include the production of specialty chemicals used in adhesives, coatings, building materials and consumer care applications, as well as high-performance plastics for packaging, automotive and electronics markets.