Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HUN. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter worth $78,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 64.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the third quarter valued at $202,000. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Huntsman stock opened at $16.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Huntsman has a 1-year low of $15.95 and a 1-year high of $27.01. The business's fifty day moving average price is $18.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.48 and a beta of 0.97.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. Huntsman's payout ratio is presently -144.93%.

About Huntsman

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.