Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.4091.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HUN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Huntsman Stock Up 5.5%

HUN stock opened at $13.23 on Wednesday. Huntsman has a 52-week low of $7.30 and a 52-week high of $14.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.07 and a beta of 0.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.08). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a negative return on equity of 3.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -21.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impala Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 1,731,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,544,000 after buying an additional 575,800 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $799,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP grew its position in Huntsman by 117.7% in the third quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP now owns 463,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 250,389 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 223.5% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 517,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 357,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Huntsman in the third quarter worth approximately $832,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.