Short Interest in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Grows By 35.0%
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyHuntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,182,177 shares, an increase of 35.0% from the December 31st total of 14,946,087 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,668,926 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 12.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 12.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,668,926 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $178,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,590 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Huntsman by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772,563 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 83.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,131,000 after buying an additional 3,351,265 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Huntsman by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,663,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,836,000 after acquiring an additional 113,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,393,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,437,000 after purchasing an additional 83,098 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Huntsman Stock Performance
NYSE HUN traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.82. 6,217,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,596,171. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.69 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.66 and a 200 day moving average of $9.98. Huntsman has a 12-month low of $7.30 and a 12-month high of $18.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.
Huntsman (NYSE:HUN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Huntsman Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Huntsman’s payout ratio is -18.42%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
HUN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Huntsman from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Huntsman from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Huntsman from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors set a $11.00 target price on Huntsman in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Huntsman
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.