Short Interest in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Drops By 38.2%

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 17,893,029 shares, a decline of 38.2% from the June 15th total of 28,966,735 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,130,981 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 10.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the first quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $1,001,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Huntsman by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,377,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,776,000 after buying an additional 1,291,407 shares in the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Huntsman by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 706,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,344,000 after buying an additional 294,793 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 236.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,182,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after buying an additional 830,828 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE HUN opened at $11.83 on Friday. Huntsman has a 12 month low of $7.30 and a 12 month high of $16.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.15 and a 200-day moving average of $12.70. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of -6.16 and a beta of 0.69.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.83% and a negative return on equity of 4.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post -0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.0875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Huntsman from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Huntsman in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.67.

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.