Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $19.11 and last traded at $19.13, with a volume of 203715 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on HUN. UBS Group dropped their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.75.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of -28.53 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.34 and its 200-day moving average is $22.74.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -144.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,657,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,599,000 after buying an additional 97,082 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,891,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,389,000 after purchasing an additional 243,821 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $100,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,344 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,301,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,905,000 after purchasing an additional 70,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $73,937,000 after purchasing an additional 31,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.