Huntsman Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 30,101 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,873% compared to the average daily volume of 1,526 put options.

Insider Activity at Huntsman

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Huntsman by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,342,478 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,488,000 after acquiring an additional 124,841 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 383.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,113 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 14.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 654,064 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,893,000 after purchasing an additional 81,109 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 152.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 99,405 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 60,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 97.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 413,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,403,000 after purchasing an additional 203,662 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Huntsman Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of HUN traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.00. 2,458,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,077,254. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average of $21.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of -24.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Huntsman has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $27.01.

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

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 (DPR) is -144.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HUN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.14.

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.