Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Short Interest Up 56.1% in November

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a growth of 56.1% from the October 31st total of 1,320,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 946,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $104.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 264,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,149. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.29 and a 200-day moving average of $101.68. The firm has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.44. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $80.71 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.86.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 in the last three months. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

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.