Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. cut its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) by 22.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,900 shares during the period. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,023,000. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 3,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $76.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. Eastman Chemical Company has a 52-week low of $70.90 and a 52-week high of $114.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.46.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 42.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on EMN shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.54.

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.