Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading 6.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) traded up 6.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.76 and last traded at $17.11. 1,030,705 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 2,038,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HUN shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Huntsman Stock Up 8.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.92. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.78 and a beta of 0.95.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.18). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -90.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 4,078.9% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,015,000 after purchasing an additional 488,035 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 150.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 18,555 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Huntsman by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 597,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,777,000 after acquiring an additional 81,481 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Huntsman by 289.8% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 190,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 141,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 741,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,373,000 after acquiring an additional 173,800 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.