Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,700,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the November 30th total of 4,370,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntsman

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Huntsman during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Huntsman by 1,250.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUN traded up $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.03. 2,370,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,945,635. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.13 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Huntsman has a 12-month low of $17.41 and a 12-month high of $27.01.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 1.99%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Huntsman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

Huntsman Company Profile

Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products.