Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $14.46 and last traded at $14.3450, with a volume of 4629352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on HUN. Mizuho upped their price objective on Huntsman from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Huntsman from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.41.

Huntsman Trading Up 8.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.76 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.72 and a 200-day moving average of $11.13.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a negative return on equity of 3.97%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -21.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 20.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 9,720 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Huntsman by 97.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,137,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,127 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 599,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Huntsman by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 14,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.