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Eastman Chemical (EMN) Hits 52-Week High: What's Driving It?

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Shares of Eastman Chemical Company (EMN - Free Report) scaled a fresh 52-week high of $97.81 on Jan 8, before eventually closing the day at $97.48.

Eastman Chemical has a market cap of roughly $14 billion. Average volume of shares traded in the last three months is around 1110.2K. The company has an expected long-term EPS growth of 8.2%.

Notably, Eastman Chemical has an impressive earnings surprise history as the company has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 5%.

Shares of Eastman Chemical have rallied 15.2% in the past six months, underperforming the industry’s 19.2% growth.

 



Driving Factors

Eastman Chemical expects to drive growth on the back of innovation and high margin products amid an uncertain global business environment. Eastman Chemical expects adjusted earnings per share growth in 2017 the top-end of the earlier projected range of 10-12% year over year, excluding the financial impact of the Kingsport operational incident.

Though the company is still assessing the financial impact of the incident, it is expected to reduce operating earnings in the range of $50-100 million. The company expects costs associated with the incident to be around $100 million in the fourth quarter.

Eastman Chemical remains focused on cost-cutting and productivity actions amid a challenging operating environment. The company is expected to gain from its strategic acquisitions. It also remains committed to reduce debt.

Eastman Chemical Company Price and Consensus

 

 

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Eastman Chemical carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO - Free Report) , Koppers Holding Inc. (KOP - Free Report) and Huntsman Corporation (HUN - Free Report) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kronos Worldwide has expected long-term earnings growth of 5%. Its shares have skyrocketed 105.9% in the past one year.

Koppers has expected long-term earnings growth of 18%. Shares of the company have rallied 25.3% in the past one year.

Huntsman has expected long-term earnings growth of 8%. Its shares have soared 74.6% in the past one year.

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