Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Stock Position in Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its position in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,378 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.13% of Eastman Chemical worth $9,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 523,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,987,000 after buying an additional 24,458 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 109,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,875,000 after acquiring an additional 43,159 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 47,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 14,294 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,353.7% in the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 37,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 35,021 shares during the period. Finally, QSM Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 76.0% in the third quarter. QSM Asset Management Ltd now owns 94,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,879,000 after acquiring an additional 40,897 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EMN shares. Evercore set a $75.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.64.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 1.7%

EMN stock opened at $71.24 on Friday. Eastman Chemical Company has a one year low of $56.11 and a one year high of $89.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.02 and its 200 day moving average is $66.43. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20.

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). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 5.42%.The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.