Huntsman Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 30,101 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,873% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,526 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.14.

Huntsman Stock Down 2.5 %

HUN opened at $17.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.48. Huntsman has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $27.01.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the company’s 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,342,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,488,000 after buying an additional 124,841 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 383.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,113 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 654,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,893,000 after purchasing an additional 81,109 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 152.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 99,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 60,072 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Huntsman by 97.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 413,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,403,000 after purchasing an additional 203,662 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.