Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $17.44, but opened at $17.08. Huntsman shares last traded at $17.00, with a volume of 442,385 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HUN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Huntsman Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. Equities research analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 73,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 49.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 10,582 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 267.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 117,990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,855,000 after acquiring an additional 85,889 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the third quarter worth $27,045,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 242.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 31,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.