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

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HUN shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Huntsman Price Performance

NYSE:HUN opened at $19.58 on Friday. Huntsman has a 52 week low of $19.11 and a 52 week high of $27.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.38 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -144.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUN. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 12,875 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 15.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 2,951 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,538,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Harvest Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Huntsman

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.