Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Price Target Cut to $24.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HUN. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Huntsman from an underweight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, June 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $27.00.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN stock opened at $22.73 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.55. Huntsman has a 1 year low of $22.14 and a 1 year high of $29.90.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.49% and a positive return on equity of 0.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. Huntsman’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -192.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Huntsman by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,258,188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,618,000 after buying an additional 84,462 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Huntsman by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,792,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,727,000 after purchasing an additional 904,696 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at $43,761,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 234,824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 32,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 204.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 39,749 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Company Profile

Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products.