Zacks: Analysts Expect Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Will Post Quarterly Sales of $2.32 Billion

Equities analysts predict that Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN – Get Rating) will report $2.32 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Six analysts have made estimates for Huntsman’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $2.14 billion to $2.48 billion. Huntsman reported sales of $1.84 billion in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 26.1%. The company is expected to issue its next earnings report before the market opens on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Huntsman will report full-year sales of $9.01 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $8.29 billion to $9.70 billion. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the company will report sales of $9.31 billion, with estimates ranging from $8.73 billion to $9.95 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that that provide coverage for Huntsman.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Huntsman had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HUN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Huntsman from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 1st. Alembic Global Advisors reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Monday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Huntsman from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 16th. Bank of America began coverage on Huntsman in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Huntsman from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.64.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 81.0% during the 3rd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HUN stock opened at $34.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.13. Huntsman has a fifty-two week low of $24.09 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.07 and a 200-day moving average of $35.03.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th were issued a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from Huntsman’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.93%.

Huntsman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 24.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Huntsman Company Profile (Get Rating)

Huntsman Corp. engages in the manufacturing of differentiated organic chemical products. It operates through the following segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects. The Polyurethanes segment manufactures and markets polyurethane chemicals, including MDI products, PO, polyols, PG, TPU, aniline, and MTBE.

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