Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.75 and last traded at $11.40, with a volume of 1696697 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HUN shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Huntsman from $19.00 to $13.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $12.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.33 and a beta of 0.72.

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 firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.06) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -109.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Huntsman by 28.6% in 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,482,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,171,000 after acquiring an additional 130,702 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Huntsman by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,009,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,194,000 after purchasing an additional 125,595 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Huntsman by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,557 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,529,000 after purchasing an additional 349,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Huntsman by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 155,213 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,798,000 after purchasing an additional 35,949 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

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.