Brokerages Set Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) PT at $20.25

Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.25.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HUN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Huntsman stock opened at $15.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Huntsman has a 1-year low of $15.22 and a 1-year high of $26.40.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.18). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. On average, analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Huntsman by 10.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,342,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,488,000 after acquiring an additional 124,841 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 152.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 99,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 60,072 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,529,000 after purchasing an additional 349,502 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in Huntsman in the fourth quarter valued at $569,000. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Huntsman in the fourth quarter valued at $1,338,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.