Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Huntsman Corporation's stock reached a new 52-week low of $10.09 amid high trading volume, with analysts issuing a mix of ratings that include multiple downgrades to "sell."
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of (0.11), matching analysts' expectations, but fell short of revenue forecasts with $1.41 billion against an expected $1.51 billion.
• Huntsman recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to an annual yield of 10.06%, although the company has a high negative payout ratio.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $10.09 and last traded at $10.10, with a volume of 1610425 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HUN. Bank of America downgraded shares of Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $13.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.17.

Huntsman Trading Down 5.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -10.07 and a beta of 0.70.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.05). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.65% and a negative net margin of 2.63%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.9%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -109.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,074,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,370,000 after buying an additional 239,193 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 898.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 167,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,640,000 after buying an additional 150,461 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 14,812 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 51.0% during the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,826,000 after buying an additional 39,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 63,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 26,551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

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.