Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Stock Lifted to Hold by Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Huntsman from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.62.

Huntsman Price Performance

NYSE:HUN opened at $9.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.78 and a beta of 0.73. Huntsman has a 12-month low of $7.99 and a 12-month high of $16.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.60.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.03). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 2.81% and a negative return on equity of 3.11%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -35.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter valued at about $3,366,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter worth about $92,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,992,000. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,935,000. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,000. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation is a global chemicals manufacturer that produces differentiated and specialty chemical products for industrial and consumer markets. Its products include polyurethane chemicals, epoxy and other advanced materials, and performance chemicals used in applications such as insulation, coatings, adhesives, construction, transportation, textiles, and electronics. Founded by Jon Huntsman Sr. in 1970, the company began as a plastics and packaging business before expanding into chemicals.