Short Interest in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Drops By 20.7%

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the October 15th total of 4,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HUN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $79,905,000 after buying an additional 70,382 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in Huntsman by 12.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 589,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,259,000 after acquiring an additional 66,688 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Huntsman by 89.4% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,037 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 8,988 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Huntsman by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,055,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $73,937,000 after acquiring an additional 31,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 295.1% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 722,990 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,496,000 after acquiring an additional 539,990 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HUN traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.55. 2,366,446 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,915,399. Huntsman has a fifty-two week low of $19.14 and a fifty-two week high of $27.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.88.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 1.99%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. Huntsman's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman's payout ratio is -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.

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