Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $19.55 and last traded at $19.56, with a volume of 72506 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.75.

Huntsman Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -28.51 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.91. 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 data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 1.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Huntsman Co. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 24.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 665,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,327,000 after purchasing an additional 130,614 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,180,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Huntsman by 1,052.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 209,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,449,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,531,800 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 383.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,138,000 after buying an additional 1,124,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.