JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Stock Price

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.63.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of HUN opened at $17.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -16.02 and a beta of 0.95. Huntsman has a one year low of $15.67 and a one year high of $27.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.10.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -90.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $84,663,000 after buying an additional 3,578,100 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Huntsman by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,940,000 after buying an additional 2,135,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,464,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,762,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,712,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,870,000 after purchasing an additional 650,951 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently 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.