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

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $20.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Huntsman traded as low as $18.24 and last traded at $18.30, with a volume of 2805161 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUN. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 1,250.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Huntsman in the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Huntsman Trading Down 2.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.59%. Huntsman's payout ratio is currently -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.