Huntsman Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 15,037 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 817% compared to the average daily volume of 1,640 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HUN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.43.

Huntsman Price Performance

HUN traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $18.84. 1,128,102 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,923,367. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of -27.61 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.09. Huntsman has a 1 year low of $18.65 and a 1 year high of $27.01.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.09 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.31%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is -144.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntsman

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUN. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 12,875 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 15.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,538,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Huntsman by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

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.