Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Up 17.2% in March

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,320,000 shares, an increase of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 4,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.09. 1,286,592 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,983,562. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $25.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.45 and a beta of 1.12.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Huntsman had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 1.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Huntsman's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is 188.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Huntsman during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HUN. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Huntsman from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Huntsman from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.55.

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.