Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $20.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $15.22 and last traded at $15.44, with a volume of 543260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.82.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 320.2% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,695,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,578,100 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Huntsman by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Huntsman during the fourth quarter valued at $37,464,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,762,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,815,000 after buying an additional 1,139,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,712,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,870,000 after buying an additional 650,951 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.04 and its 200-day moving average is $19.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 0.95.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. Equities analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

Huntsman Company Profile

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.