Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) fell 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.43 and last traded at $16.58. 2,455,917 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average session volume of 2,088,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered their price target on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Huntsman Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.98 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is -90.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 4,078.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,015,000 after buying an additional 488,035 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Huntsman by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 18,555 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 597,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,777,000 after purchasing an additional 81,481 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 289.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 190,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 141,356 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Huntsman by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 741,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,373,000 after purchasing an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Huntsman

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.