Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Stock Price Down 3.5% – Here’s Why

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) shares were down 3.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $13.27 and last traded at $13.24. Approximately 251,852 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,319,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on HUN shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Huntsman Stock Down 4.0 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.19 and its 200-day moving average is $18.53. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -11.97 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -90.91%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 320.2% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,695,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578,100 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,940,000 after buying an additional 2,135,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,464,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,762,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Huntsman by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,712,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,870,000 after acquiring an additional 650,951 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.