Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Update

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUNGet Free Report) was the recipient of a large 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. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on HUN

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntsman

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Huntsman in the third quarter worth $62,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1,250.0% during 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 bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $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 Price Performance

Huntsman stock opened at $18.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.76 and its 200 day moving average is $21.56. Huntsman has a one year low of $17.41 and a one year high of $27.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.13 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUNGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

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

About Huntsman

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Huntsman Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Huntsman and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.