Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $20.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $18.24 and last traded at $18.30, with a volume of 2805161 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on HUN. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price 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 cut 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, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUN. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Huntsman by 10.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,342,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,488,000 after purchasing an additional 124,841 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 12,875 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Huntsman by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,538,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -26.46 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -144.93%.

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.