Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Stock Price Up 4.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Huntsman Corporation's shares increased by 4.5% to $10.92, despite trading volume dropping 67% from its average.
• Recent analyst reports have led to a decrease in target prices, with UBS lowering theirs from $13.00 to $11.00, and Mizuho adjusting it down to $9.00.
• The company reported (0.20) earnings per share for the last quarter, missing consensus estimates and demonstrating a 7.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.89 and last traded at $10.92. Approximately 1,301,762 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 3,924,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Huntsman from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho restated an "underperform" rating and set a $9.00 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Friday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.05.

Huntsman Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.03 and a beta of 0.65. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $10.58 and its 200-day 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) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.05). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 2.48% and a negative net margin of 5.75%.The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. Huntsman's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -51.28%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 259.0% during the 2nd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 1,155,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,638,000 after buying an additional 833,418 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 10.6% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 67,475 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 6,472 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 868.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 109,875 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 98,533 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the second quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Huntsman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $148,000. 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.