Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.25.

HUN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho cut their price target on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of HUN stock opened at $15.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.35. Huntsman has a 52 week low of $15.46 and a 52 week high of $26.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of -14.39 and a beta of 0.95.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -90.91%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Huntsman by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 31,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 11,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.