Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Trading 8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) shot up 8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.86 and last traded at $14.3910. 322,428 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 6,104,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HUN. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntsman from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Huntsman from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.17.

Huntsman Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.19 and a 200 day moving average of $11.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.25 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 4.60% and a negative net margin of 5.83%.The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.11) EPS. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -18.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 9,720 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Huntsman by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,137,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,127 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 599,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 1st quarter valued at about $680,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 14,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares during the last quarter. 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.