Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Raises Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 21.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 292,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 52,398 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.25% of Eastman Chemical worth $32,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $99.31 on Wednesday. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $80.71 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.80. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is 43.37%.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 over the last quarter. 2.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EMN shares. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.86.

About Eastman Chemical

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.