Huntsman Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 15,037 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 817% compared to the average daily volume of 1,640 put options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the company's 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,415,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,344 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 383.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth $27,045,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,358,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $53,701,000 after purchasing an additional 811,099 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 295.1% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HUN shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.43.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HUN stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $18.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,849,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,418. 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 market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.23 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.05. Huntsman has a 1-year low of $18.65 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. Huntsman's payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

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.