Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.91 and last traded at $15.7320, with a volume of 966797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HUN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Huntsman from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Huntsman from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.17.

Huntsman Trading Up 4.5%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.20 and a beta of 0.64.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is presently -18.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Huntsman by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,880,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $178,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,590 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 29.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,772,563 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,351,265 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Huntsman by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,969,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,697,000 after purchasing an additional 336,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Huntsman by 16.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,950,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Company Profile

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.