Huntsman Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 40,557 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,514% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,513 put options.

Huntsman Price Performance

NYSE HUN opened at $23.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Huntsman has a 12-month low of $22.14 and a 12-month high of $29.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 44.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Huntsman had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 1.92%. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Huntsman’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Huntsman’s payout ratio is 188.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HUN. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Huntsman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 1st quarter worth about $155,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,672,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $475,358,000 after purchasing an additional 47,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 14,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. 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.