IMS Capital Management Purchases Shares of 2,500 Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

IMS Capital Management acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third 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. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock opened at $95.36 on Wednesday. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.