Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $14.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $12.40 and last traded at $12.69, with a volume of 277260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.43.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HUN. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 31,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 11,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.18 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.06.

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

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -90.91%.

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.