Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Huntsman Corporation decreased by 26.5% in August, with 13,750,000 shares short sold, representing 8.4% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts have revised their ratings on Huntsman, with the consensus rating now at "Hold" and a price target of $12.05, while several firms lowered their target prices.
• Huntsman recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, resulting in an annual yield of 9.2%, although it has a negative dividend payout ratio of -51.28%.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,750,000 shares, a drop of 26.5% from the August 15th total of 18,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 9.7% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 11,004 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 6.8% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 19,434 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1.2% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 117,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 177.9% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 40.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,034 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.80. The company had a trading volume of 6,431,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,003,035. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.03 and a beta of 0.65. Huntsman has a one year low of $8.91 and a one year high of $25.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.18.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -51.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HUN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho restated an "underperform" rating and set a $9.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.05.

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.