Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $70.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on EMN. Weiss Ratings raised Eastman Chemical from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $71.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.77.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $63.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.24. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $56.11 and a 1-year high of $103.82.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.04). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 7.75%.The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Eastman Chemical has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.400-5.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $392,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 235.2% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 66,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,942,000 after acquiring an additional 46,453 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 19.2% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 67,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,066,000 after acquiring an additional 10,813 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 9.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 472,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,268,000 after acquiring an additional 39,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,659,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,094,485,000 after acquiring an additional 79,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

About Eastman Chemical

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.