Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Price Target to $25.00

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.75.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of Huntsman stock opened at $20.29 on Wednesday. Huntsman has a 12 month low of $19.90 and a 12 month high of $27.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Huntsman by 24.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 665,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,327,000 after buying an additional 130,614 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the second quarter worth $2,180,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 1,052.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 209,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,449,000 after acquiring an additional 191,272 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Huntsman by 753.2% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,867,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,652,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 383.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.