Huntsman Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 43,113 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 421% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,275 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HUN shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Huntsman from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Huntsman from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 104.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 2,182.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Huntsman by 986.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 6,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 5,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of HUN stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,001,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,599,213. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of -7.24 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.46. Huntsman has a twelve month low of $7.30 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 3.97% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -21.34%.

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.