Assessing Eastman Chemical’s Valuation After Its 16th Straight Dividend Hike and New Cost-Cutting Goals

Eastman Chemical (EMN) just quietly extended its dividend growth streak to 16 years, nudging the quarterly payout up to 0.84 dollars while also laying out fresh cost cutting goals for 2026.

See our latest analysis for Eastman Chemical.

Even with this steady dividend story, Eastman’s 1 year total shareholder return of negative 31.1 percent and weaker year to date share price return suggest momentum has been fading. However, the recent 1 month share price rebound hints sentiment might be stabilising.

If this kind of steady dividend play has you rethinking your portfolio mix, it could be a good moment to explore fast growing stocks with high insider ownership as potential next wave candidates.

With the share price lagging long term returns, yet still trading at a meaningful discount to analyst targets and some estimates of intrinsic value, investors now face a key question: is this a buying opportunity or is future growth already priced in?

Most Popular Narrative Narrative: 10.5% Undervalued

With Eastman Chemical last closing at 65.12 dollars against a narrative fair value near 72.76 dollars, the current price implies a noticeable valuation gap.

The analysts have a consensus price target of 76.353 dollars for Eastman Chemical based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of 100.0 dollars, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just 60.0 dollars.

Read the complete narrative.

Curious how modest revenue expectations, firmer margins, and a future earnings multiple come together to support that upside gap? The narrative lays out the entire playbook.

Result: Fair Value of $72.76 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts.

However, lingering trade tensions and slower adoption of Eastman’s higher margin recycled products could undermine the earnings recovery story that analysts are banking on.

Find out about the key risks to this Eastman Chemical narrative.

Build Your Own Eastman Chemical Narrative

If you see the story differently or want to stress test the numbers yourself, you can build a personalised view in just minutes: Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Eastman Chemical research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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