Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Huntsman (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 26,420 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,257% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,947 put options.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of HUN stock opened at $17.43 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of -15.84 and a beta of 0.95. Huntsman has a fifty-two week low of $15.46 and a fifty-two week high of $26.48.

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

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Huntsman by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,482,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,171,000 after acquiring an additional 130,702 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,529,000 after acquiring an additional 349,502 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 320.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,578,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,301,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,905,000 after acquiring an additional 70,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135,000 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

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.