Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $19.55 and last traded at $19.56, with a volume of 72506 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HUN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Huntsman Trading Down 1.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.96. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.96 and a beta of 1.02.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly 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 during 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%. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -144.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of Huntsman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Huntsman by 24.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 665,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,327,000 after buying an additional 130,614 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Huntsman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,180,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 1,052.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 209,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,449,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 753.2% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,867,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 383.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,138,000 after buying an additional 1,124,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.