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

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 32,696 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,773% compared to the typical volume of 1,746 put options.

Huntsman Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HUN opened at $21.14 on Friday. Huntsman has a 1-year low of $19.90 and a 1-year high of $27.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.64 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.03.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for 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 revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -144.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 383.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,124,113 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,358,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,701,000 after purchasing an additional 811,099 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the first quarter valued at about $10,523,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 45.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,213,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,634,000 after buying an additional 376,423 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently 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.