Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Stock Price Up 6.7% – Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Huntsman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.50.

Huntsman Trading Up 8.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.92. 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 has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -15.78 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 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 return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. On average, analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 4,078.9% during 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 buying an additional 488,035 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Huntsman by 150.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 18,555 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 289.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 190,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 141,356 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 741,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,373,000 after purchasing an additional 173,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.