Short Interest in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Rises By 58.4%

Key Points

• Huntsman Corporation's short interest increased by 58.4% in August, reaching a total of 18,720,000 shares as of August 15th.
• Analysts have downgraded Huntsman’s stock, with Citigroup and Royal Bank of Canada lowering their price targets to $9.00 and $10.00 respectively, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend, yielding 8.9%, which will be paid on September 30th to stockholders of record on September 15th.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,720,000 shares, anincreaseof58.4% from the July 31st total of 11,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently,11.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Currently,11.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.06.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Huntsman by 28.6% during 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. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 898.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 167,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 150,461 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 12.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,812 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 51.0% in the first quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 39,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 72.0% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 63,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 26,551 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUN traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.19. 4,356,271 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,774,349. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.67 and a 200 day moving average of $12.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.74 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.43. Huntsman has a 1 year low of $8.91 and a 1 year high of $25.12.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.05). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.48%. 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 firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -51.28%.

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.

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