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Eastman (EMN) Declares Share Buyback Worth $500 Million

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Eastman Chemical Company (EMN - Free Report) recently entered into an accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with Wells Fargo, NA and Mizuho Markets Americas LLC to buyback $500 million of Eastman’s common stock.

With the implementation of the ASR, Eastman will have repurchased roughly $750 million in the second quarter, progressing toward its target of repurchasing more than $1 billion of shares in 2022.

The ASR repurchases will be under the remainder of the February 2018 $2 billion share repurchase authorization and the December 2021 $2.5-billion share repurchase authorization. Upon executing of the ASR, Eastman will have the authorization to repurchase another around $2.12 billion of shares.

Eastman stated that this accelerated share repurchase reflects its confidence in its market value and commitment to continue delivering value to stockholders through share repurchases.

The ASR repurchases are anticipated to be completed by third-quarter 2022, with the total number of repurchased shares based on Eastman’s volume-weighted average price during the term of the agreement, less a discount.

Eastman Chemical’s shares have declined 18.3% in the past year compared with a 8% fall of the industry.

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Eastman Chemical, in its last earnings call, envisions strong performance from the first quarter to continue for the balance of 2022. It remains on track with its pricing actions to offset inflation in 2022. It also anticipates its specialty product lines to continue to grow faster than end markets and drive additional mix improvement.

The company continues to expect adjusted earnings per share of $9.50-$10 for 2022. It also anticipates operating cash flow to reach $1.6 billion this year.

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

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

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Nutrien Ltd. (NTR - Free Report) , AdvanSix Inc. (ASIX - Free Report) and Cabot Corporation (CBT - Free Report) .

Nutrien has a projected earnings growth rate of 157.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NTR's current-year earnings has been revised 36.6% upward in the past 60 days.

Nutrien’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, while missing once. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 5.9%, on average. NTR has rallied around 57.4% in a year and currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AdvanSix has a projected earnings growth rate of 63.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASIX’s current-year earnings has been revised 39.4% upward in the past 60 days.

AdvanSix’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being 20.5%. ASIX has surged 51.2% in a year. The company flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.

Cabot, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has an expected earnings growth rate of 17.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBT's earnings for the current year has been revised 1.7% upward in the past 60 days.

Cabot’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 16.2%. CBT has gained around 7.4% over a year.


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