Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $16.95 and last traded at $16.95, with a volume of 1088895 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.14.

Huntsman Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.64 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.43 and its 200 day moving average is $21.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

Insider Activity at Huntsman

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntsman

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Huntsman by 52.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,358,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $53,701,000 after purchasing an additional 811,099 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $559,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 97.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 413,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,403,000 after acquiring an additional 203,662 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 333.8% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 35,792 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 27,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 9,699.1% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 10,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 10,281 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.