Eastman Chemical Company EMN recently announced an increase in its quarterly cash dividend to 83 cents from 81 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable Jan. 8, 2025, to stockholders of record as of Dec. 16, 2024. The increase reflects the board's confidence in EMN's steady earnings performance and strong cash flow generation. This also marks the 15th consecutive year of dividend hike for the company.

Eastman collaborates with customers to offer new products and solutions that improve the quality of life in a material way, all while being committed to safety and sustainability. The company's innovation-driven growth strategy leverages world-class technology platforms, strong customer involvement and innovative application development to expand its market leadership in lucrative markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. 

In the third quarter, EMN’s cash provided by operating activities was $396 million. Eastman Chemical returned $195 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in the quarter.

Eastman Chemical’s shares have soared 17% over a year compared with industry’s 1% rise.

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The company expects earnings per share for 2024 to be between $7.50 and $7.70. EMN expects operating cash flow to approach $1.3 billion in 2024.

Eastman estimates normal seasonal volume declines across most of its end markets for the fourth quarter. It expects to continue leveraging its innovation-driven growth model to drive growth above its markets.

EMN’s Rank & Key Picks

Eastman currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD and CF Industries Inc. CF. 

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.1%. The company's shares have soared 177.8% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DD’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.88 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 11.5%. DD, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 12.9%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 17.1% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF’s current-year earnings is pegged at $6.32 per share. CF, a Zacks Rank #1 stock, beat the consensus estimate in two of the last four quarters while missed twice, with the average earnings surprise being 10.3%. CF has rallied around 16.8% in the past year.

 

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