Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Huntsman (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 32,696 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,773% compared to the average daily volume of 1,746 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.75.

Huntsman Price Performance

Shares of HUN traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $20.88. The stock had a trading volume of 3,725,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,898,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.30. Huntsman has a 12 month low of $19.90 and a 12 month high of $27.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -43.16 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.06.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10. Huntsman had a positive return on equity of 0.26% and a negative net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 4.79%. Huntsman's payout ratio is -200.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Huntsman during the first quarter worth $45,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 1,250.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman during the second quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company's stock.

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.