Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Short Interest Down 10.5% in January

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,260,000 shares, a decrease of 10.5% from the January 15th total of 5,880,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Huntsman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Up 4.6 %

NYSE HUN traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.78. The stock had a trading volume of 6,685,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,759. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -25.76 and a beta of 0.95. Huntsman has a 1 year low of $15.67 and a 1 year high of $27.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.19.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is currently -144.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on HUN shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.63.

About Huntsman

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.