Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading Down 4% – Time to Sell?

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)’s stock price fell 4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $12.38 and last traded at $12.39. 422,405 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 6,623,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HUN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 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 report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.41.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -7.98 and a beta of 0.59. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $12.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.63.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced 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 return on equity of 3.97% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -21.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in Huntsman in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Huntsman during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 104.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 2,182.0% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 4,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Huntsman during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 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.