Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Reaches New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $11.05 and last traded at $11.05, with a volume of 4350730 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HUN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $13.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of -10.11 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.00 and its 200-day moving average is $16.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. Huntsman's revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -109.89%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 345.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,926,971 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $151,982,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,922 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 320.2% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,695,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578,100 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $58,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Huntsman in the fourth quarter valued at $37,464,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,762,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,549 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.