Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading 8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) traded up 8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $13.86 and last traded at $14.3910. 322,428 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 6,104,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Huntsman from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Huntsman from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.17.

Huntsman Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of -7.25 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.64.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 4.60% and a negative net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 223.5% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 517,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after buying an additional 357,662 shares during the period. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 49.8% during the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 1,731,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,544,000 after buying an additional 575,800 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman during the third quarter worth about $799,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP boosted its stake in Huntsman by 117.7% during the third quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP now owns 463,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 250,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Huntsman during the third quarter worth about $832,000. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Huntsman Company Profile

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.