Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,540,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the February 29th total of 4,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Huntsman Trading Down 0.8 %

Huntsman stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,705,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,826. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Huntsman has a 52-week low of $22.14 and a 52-week high of $29.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.13 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.07 and a 200 day moving average of $24.59.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Huntsman had a return on equity of 1.92% and a net margin of 1.65%. Huntsman's revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Huntsman's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Huntsman from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Huntsman by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,792,098 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,727,000 after acquiring an additional 904,696 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 115.4% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 105,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 56,598 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 6.4% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 73,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,406 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,889,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,268,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.