Short Interest in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Drops By 20.7%

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a decrease of 20.7% from the October 15th total of 4,400,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 0.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 332,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,658,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Huntsman by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 665,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,327,000 after acquiring an additional 130,614 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Huntsman by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 194,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,314,000 after acquiring an additional 8,271 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Huntsman by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 42,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 8,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jade Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Huntsman in the 1st quarter worth about $1,302,000. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:HUN traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.55. 2,366,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,915,399. Huntsman has a 12 month low of $19.14 and a 12 month high of $27.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.50 and a 200 day moving average of $22.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is presently -144.93%.

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.