Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.37, but opened at $12.42. Huntsman shares last traded at $12.24, with a volume of 1,658,524 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HUN shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Huntsman from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.67.

Huntsman Trading Down 9.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $15.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.56. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 0.85.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -90.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 177.9% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Huntsman by 2,388.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.