Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading 5.4% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)’s share price rose 5.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $11.57 and last traded at $11.5670. Approximately 1,709,268 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 6,369,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on HUN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Huntsman from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.72 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 4.60% and a negative net margin of 5.83%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -18.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Huntsman by 83.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,131,000 after buying an additional 3,351,265 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,772,563 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Huntsman by 476.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,841,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,598 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter worth $21,953,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 4,003.2% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,806,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,062,000 after buying an additional 1,762,187 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Company Profile

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.