Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Huntsman (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 26,420 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,257% compared to the average daily volume of 1,947 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Huntsman by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Huntsman Price Performance

NYSE HUN opened at $17.43 on Wednesday. Huntsman has a one year low of $15.46 and a one year high of $26.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.14 and a 200 day moving average of $19.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given 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 dividend yield of 5.74%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

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.