Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Update

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,260,000 shares, a drop of 10.5% from the January 15th total of 5,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Huntsman by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 18,555 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 597,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,777,000 after buying an additional 81,481 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 289.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 190,139 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,428,000 after buying an additional 141,356 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 741,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,373,000 after buying an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 28.6% in 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 last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HUN traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,334,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,923,345. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.02 and a beta of 0.95. Huntsman has a fifty-two week low of $15.67 and a fifty-two week high of $27.01.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.18). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.67%. Huntsman's payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on HUN shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.63.

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.