Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Huntsman shares reached a new 52-week high of $14.46 and last traded around $14.345 with roughly 4.63 million shares changing hands.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative — the stock carries an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $12.41 despite several recent upgrades and downgrades from major firms.
• Fundamentals show weakness (quarterly EPS of -$0.20, a negative net margin of -5% and negative ROE), though Huntsman pays a $0.35 annualized dividend (~2.4% yield) and about 84.8% of shares are held by institutions.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $14.46 and last traded at $14.3450, with a volume of 4629352 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HUN. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Huntsman from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Huntsman from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Huntsman from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $12.41.

Huntsman Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.76 and a beta of 0.59.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 3.97% and a negative net margin of 5.00%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.0875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Huntsman's payout ratio is -21.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new position in Huntsman in the 1st quarter valued at $369,000. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 1st quarter worth $133,000. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 15,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 1st quarter worth $239,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,227 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Company Profile

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.

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