Huntsman Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HUN)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyHuntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN – Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 14,272 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 120% compared to the average daily volume of 6,475 call options.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have commented on HUN shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Huntsman from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of Huntsman in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Huntsman from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $10.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on HUN
Institutional Trading of Huntsman
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Huntsman by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 44,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Huntsman by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors increased its position in Huntsman by 5.7% in the second quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 26,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 599,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,463,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.
Huntsman Stock Up 13.0%
Shares of NYSE HUN traded up $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.97. 10,942,448 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,136,167. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.83 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Huntsman has a twelve month low of $7.30 and a twelve month high of $18.53.
Huntsman (NYSE:HUN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Huntsman Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.42%.
Huntsman Company Profile
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.