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Eastman Chemical (EMN) Raises Quarterly Cash Dividend by 10%

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Eastman Chemical Company (EMN - Free Report) recently announced a hike in its quarterly cash dividend to 76 cents, up 10% from the earlier payout of 69 cents. The dividend is payable on Jan 7, 2022, to shareholders of record as of Dec 15, 2021.

The company stated that it is increasing the dividend for the 12th straight year as part of its ongoing commitment to return cash to shareholders. The move reflects the Board’s confidence in its ability to deliver earnings growth and continue its record of generating strong cash flow, the company noted.

Eastman Chemical ended the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $717 million, up roughly 10% year over year.

The company generated cash from operating activities of $1.19 billion and a free cash flow of $874 million in the first nine months of 2021. The company also returned $572 million to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the period.

Eastman Chemical’s shares have increased 6% in the past year compared with an 11% rise of the industry.

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Eastman Chemical, in its last earnings call, stated that it is seeing sustained logistics challenges, supply-chain issues and higher raw material and energy costs as it enters the fourth quarter. It is implementing price hike actions across its specialty product lines to offset higher costs.

It expects adjusted earnings per share of $8.80-$9.00 for 2021. It also anticipates free cash flow to reach $1.1 billion for the year.

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

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

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) , The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) and The Mosaic Company (MOS - Free Report) .

Celanese has an expected earnings growth rate of 139.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 8.7% upward in the past 60 days.

Celanese beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 12.7%, on average. The stock has surged around 21.1% in a year. CE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Chemours has an expected earnings growth rate of 105.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has been revised 10% upward in the past 60 days.

Chemours beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all of the last four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 34.2%, on average. CC has increased around 14.3% over a year. CC currently sports a Zacks Rank #2.

Mosaic has a projected earnings growth rate of 500% for the current year. The consensus estimate for the current year has been revised 0.8% upward in the past 60 days.

Mosaic beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters. MOS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 38.1%, on average. The company’s shares have gained around 54.1% in a year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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