Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Shares Up 6.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) rose 6.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $17.76 and last traded at $17.11. Approximately 1,030,705 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 2,038,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho cut their target price on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Huntsman Stock Up 2.2 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of -16.22 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. On average, analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -90.91%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Huntsman in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Huntsman in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Huntsman in the third quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.