Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $19.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $18.24 and last traded at $18.30, with a volume of 2805161 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HUN. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.71.

Insider Activity at Huntsman

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 1,250.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.52 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -144.93%.

About Huntsman

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.