Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Shares Up 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)’s share price was up 5.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.95 and last traded at $13.0720. Approximately 867,331 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,676,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Huntsman from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Huntsman from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Huntsman in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Huntsman from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.41.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a negative return on equity of 3.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. Analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.0875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is presently -21.34%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,880,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $178,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,590 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,878,000 after buying an additional 2,772,563 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Huntsman by 83.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,131,000 after buying an additional 3,351,265 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Huntsman by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,969,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,697,000 after buying an additional 336,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,862,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,629,000 after acquiring an additional 199,668 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.