Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.64 and last traded at $17.64, with a volume of 401 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Huntsman Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.57 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.67.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -144.93%.

Insider Transactions at Huntsman

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of Huntsman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 5.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,891,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,389,000 after purchasing an additional 243,821 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,415,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,344 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Huntsman by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,301,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,905,000 after purchasing an additional 70,382 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,055,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,937,000 after acquiring an additional 31,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,538,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Huntsman

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.