Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys New Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $98.50 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $80.71 and a 1-year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on EMN. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, 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 over the last 90 days. 1.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.