Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $19.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $18.24 and last traded at $18.30, with a volume of 2805161 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HUN. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Huntsman during the third quarter worth about $25,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1,250.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Huntsman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Huntsman Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 1.99%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.