Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Short Interest Up 56.1% in November

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, an increase of 56.1% from the October 31st total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 946,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EMN traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 264,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,149. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.44. 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 has a 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $106.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.68.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 at this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. The trade was a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,820,000 after buying an additional 70,692 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 282,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $310,628,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,093,000 after purchasing an additional 83,504 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,435,000 after purchasing an additional 198,645 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EMN. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.86.

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.