Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) Short Interest Up 18.6% in March

by · The Cerbat Gem

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMNGet Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,349,657 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the March 15th total of 4,509,605 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,909,622 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EMN. Bank of America raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, December 19th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.00.

View Our Latest Report on Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE:EMN traded up $0.50 on Friday, reaching $73.85. 1,815,346 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,531,022. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.39. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.16. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $84.18.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMNGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 82.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EMN. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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