Here's Why You Should Hold Onto Eastman Chemical Stock for Now

Eastman Chemical Company EMN is benefiting from cost-cutting and productivity actions as well as its innovation-driven growth model amid challenges from soft demand in certain markets.

Shares of EMN are up 22.1% over the past year compared with a 7.4% decline of its industry.

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Let's find out why this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock is worth retaining at the moment.

Eastman Chemical Gains on Cost Actions & Innovation

Eastman is gaining from its actions to manage costs. It is expected to benefit from lower operating costs from its operational transformation program in 2024.

EMN is taking action to keep its manufacturing and administrative costs in control. It achieved cost savings of around $200 million in 2023, net of inflation.  Pricing initiatives and lower raw material and energy costs are also expected to support the company's bottom line. The company plans to maintain pricing discipline and improve asset utilization throughout the year.

Eastman aims to increase new business revenues by utilizing its innovation-driven growth strategy. Innovation and market development initiatives are expected to support its sales volumes. Its specialty portfolio is expected to drive sales growth across key end markets such as consumer durables, building & construction and transportation.

The company is also expected to gain from the revenues and earnings generated by its Kingsport methanolysis facility in 2024. It anticipates a $50 million incremental EBITDA contribution from the Kingsport facility.

Eastman Chemical also remains focused on maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation with an emphasis on debt reduction. It returned $526 million to shareholders in 2023 through dividends and share repurchases. It also raised its dividend for the 14th consecutive year. EMN expects to repurchase shares worth around $300 million in 2024.

Demand Weakness a Concern for EMN Stock

EMN is exposed to headwinds from weak demand in certain markets. It is seeing soft demand in building & construction and cautious customer behavior in consumer durables and electronics. Demand in building & construction remains sluggish in most regions.

While Eastman Chemical is seeing an end of customer inventory de-stocking across most of its end markets, the same is expected to continue in medical applications in the second half of 2024. Weaker demand is expected to adversely impact its performance in the third quarter of 2024.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Newmont Corporation NEM, Element Solutions Inc ESI and Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Newmont's current-year earnings is pegged at $2.82, indicating a rise of 75.2% from year-ago levels. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEM's earnings has increased 16% in the past 60 days. The stock has rallied around 35% in the past year.

The consensus estimate for Element Solutions' current-year earnings has increased by 0.7% in the past 60 days. ESI beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters while delivering in-line results on the other occasion. In this timeframe, it delivered an earnings surprise of around 3.8%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eldorado Gold's current year earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 136.8%. EGO beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 430.3%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 73% in the past year.

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