Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stock Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN)’s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.80 and traded as high as $66.82. Eastman Chemical shares last traded at $66.5260, with a volume of 895,100 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMN has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 target price on Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.79.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.55 and its 200 day moving average is $70.77.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.08). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 7.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eastman Chemical Company will post 6.10 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EMN. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 8,924 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 89,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,824,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,228,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $277,655,000 after purchasing an additional 58,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,071,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

Eastman Chemical Company is a global specialty materials and chemicals company founded in 1920 in Kingsport, Tennessee. Originally part of Eastman Kodak, it became an independent company in 1994. Eastman develops and manufactures materials and chemical products for customers in a wide range of industries. Its products include specialty plastics and films, performance additives, chemical intermediates, and cellulose acetate fibers. These materials are used in applications such as transportation, building and construction, consumer goods, electronics, packaging, and healthcare.