Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading Up 8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) were up 8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.86 and last traded at $14.3910. Approximately 322,428 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 6,104,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HUN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Huntsman from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Huntsman from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Huntsman from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.17.

Huntsman Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.52 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is -18.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 223.5% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 517,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 357,662 shares during the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 49.8% during the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 1,731,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,544,000 after purchasing an additional 575,800 shares during the last quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 117.7% during the third quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP now owns 463,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 250,389 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the third quarter worth approximately $832,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 81.7% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 293,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 132,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.