Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Huntsman (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 32,696 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,773% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,746 put options.

Huntsman Price Performance

Huntsman stock opened at $20.88 on Thursday. Huntsman has a 52-week low of $19.90 and a 52-week high of $27.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.04.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 1.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -144.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Huntsman by 1,250.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the second quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on HUN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Huntsman Company Profile

Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products.