Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $20.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $18.24 and last traded at $18.30, with a volume of 2805161 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

HUN has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Huntsman by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,342,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,488,000 after purchasing an additional 124,841 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 84.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 12,875 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Huntsman by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,538,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of -25.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Huntsman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

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.