Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Up 22.9% in February

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 26,715,600 shares, a growth of 22.9% from the January 29th total of 21,745,689 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,621,568 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 16.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 16.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,621,568 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Huntsman Trading Up 1.0%

HUN stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.42. 7,904,890 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,179,291. Huntsman has a 12-month low of $7.30 and a 12-month high of $18.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 3.97% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -21.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HUN. Citigroup upped their price target on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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. 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 research report 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 report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.41.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

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