Morgan Stanley Lowers Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Price Target to $20.00

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HUN. Citigroup reduced their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN opened at $16.65 on Monday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.24. Huntsman has a 1 year low of $15.95 and a 1 year high of $27.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. Huntsman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -144.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,304 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 12.3% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 207,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,731,000 after buying an additional 22,749 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Huntsman by 78.5% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 58,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 25,741 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 3.3% in the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 24,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Huntsman by 14.2% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 654,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,893,000 after acquiring an additional 81,109 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.