QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 672 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 672 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EMN stock opened at $97.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $86.59 and a 12-month high of $114.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.35.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

About Eastman Chemical

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.