Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Shares Down 6.7% – Here’s Why

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)’s share price fell 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $10.76 and last traded at $10.7360. 1,145,207 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,525,580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HUN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Huntsman from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.41.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.31 and a beta of 0.66.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.08). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 3.97% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -21.34%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. UBS Group AG grew its position in Huntsman by 83.5% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351,265 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,878,000 after buying an additional 2,772,563 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 476.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,841,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,517,000 after buying an additional 2,348,598 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter valued at $21,953,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter valued at $21,651,000. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.