Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $14.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $15.22 and last traded at $15.44, with a volume of 543260 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.82.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.63.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Huntsman by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,482,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $297,171,000 after acquiring an additional 130,702 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Huntsman by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,557 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,529,000 after buying an additional 349,502 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 320.2% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,695,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,663,000 after buying an additional 3,578,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,301,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,905,000 after buying an additional 70,382 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135,000 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Down 6.0 %

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 company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.87 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $16.84 and its 200-day moving average is $19.17.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.18). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.66%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is -90.91%.

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.