M&G PLC Makes New Investment in Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

M&G PLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 193,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,194,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EMN. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.86.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE EMN opened at $79.97 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Eastman Chemical Company has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $103.82. The company has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.09.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 5.42%.Eastman Chemical’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.15%.

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.