Zacks Research Predicts Weaker Earnings for Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) – Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Eastman Chemical in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.84 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.86. The consensus estimate for Eastman Chemical’s current full-year earnings is $7.60 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Eastman Chemical’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.29 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $2.01 EPS.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on EMN. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $92.10 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $80.71 and a 1 year 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.70 and a 200 day moving average of $100.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the third quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 2.0% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

About Eastman Chemical

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.