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

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,300,000 shares, an increase of 35.0% from the March 31st total of 6,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 5.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.67.

Huntsman Stock Down 9.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HUN traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.17. 9,490,454 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,477,289. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Huntsman has a fifty-two week low of $11.90 and a fifty-two week high of $25.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.56.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. Huntsman's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Huntsman's payout ratio is -90.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 177.9% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Huntsman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 2,388.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,081 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,917 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.

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