Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Shares Up 4.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) shot up 4.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.05 and last traded at $13.1040. 587,421 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,589,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HUN. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Huntsman from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.41.

Huntsman Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of -8.27 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.50 and its 200-day moving average is $10.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a negative return on equity of 3.97%. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -21.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 83.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351,265 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 29.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772,563 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 476.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,841,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,598 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Huntsman in the second quarter worth about $21,953,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 4,003.2% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,806,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762,187 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.