Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyHuntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN – Get Free Report)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $15.91 and last traded at $15.7320, with a volume of 966797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.08.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
HUN has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.17.
View Our Latest Report on Huntsman
Huntsman Price Performance
The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -8.19 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.75.
Huntsman (NYSE:HUN – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.83% and a negative return on equity of 4.60%. Huntsman’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.
Huntsman Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is presently -18.23%.
Institutional Trading of Huntsman
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 83.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,131,000 after buying an additional 3,351,265 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772,563 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 476.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,841,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,598 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,953,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 4,003.2% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,806,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,062,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.
About Huntsman
Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.
The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.