Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading Down 4.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) were down 4.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $10.07 and last traded at $10.17. Approximately 906,896 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 4,307,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Alembic Global Advisors set a $11.00 price objective on Huntsman in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Huntsman from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.23.

Huntsman Trading Up 0.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 0.68.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -52.63%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 104.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Huntsman by 197.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares during the period. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 2,182.0% in the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is 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.