Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Update

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,182,177 shares, a growth of 35.0% from the December 31st total of 14,946,087 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,668,926 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 12.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 12.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,668,926 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HUN shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Huntsman from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Huntsman from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on Huntsman from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $10.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.00.

Huntsman Stock Down 3.3%

NYSE HUN traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.82. The stock had a trading volume of 6,217,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,596,171. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.36. Huntsman has a 12 month low of $7.30 and a 12 month high of $18.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -5.69 and a beta of 0.68.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 5.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is -18.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Huntsman by 83.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,131,000 after buying an additional 3,351,265 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772,563 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 476.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,841,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348,598 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Huntsman in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,953,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Huntsman during the 2nd quarter worth $21,651,000. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.