Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading Up 4.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Huntsman shares rose 4.5% to $13.10 on Tuesday despite trading volume plunging about 91% to ~587,000 shares, while the MarketBeat consensus rating is Reduce with an average price target of $12.41.
• The company reported Q results with EPS of -$0.37, missing the -$0.29 estimate, though revenue of $1.36B slightly beat expectations; Huntsman still shows a negative net margin (-5.0%) and negative return on equity.
• Huntsman pays a quarterly dividend of $0.0875 (annualized $0.35, yield ~2.6%) and is heavily institutionally owned (about 84.8% of shares), with a market cap near $2.3 billion.

Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) were up 4.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.05 and last traded at $13.1040. Approximately 587,421 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 6,589,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HUN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $12.41.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -8.07 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $12.42 and its 200-day moving average is $10.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a negative return on equity of 3.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Huntsman's payout ratio is -21.34%.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $540,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 157,782 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 17,320 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $140,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Huntsman by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,862,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $68,629,000 after purchasing an additional 199,668 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Huntsman

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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