Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,829,604 shares, a decrease of 31.5% from the December 15th total of 15,807,911 shares, Marketbeat.com reports. Approximately 5.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,619,488 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

In other Huntsman news, VP Brian V. Ridd acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.20 per share, for a total transaction of $30,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 211,682 shares in the company, valued at $2,159,156.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

A number of large investors have bought and sold shares of HUN. Denali Advisors acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter valued at about $293,000. Quantitative Systematic Strategies acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter valued at about $307,000. Capital Impact Advisors raised its stake in Huntsman by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Impact Advisors now owns 45,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 17,600 shares in the last quarter. ICON Advisers raised its stake in Huntsman by 49.8% in the third quarter. ICON Advisers now owns 299,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 99,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,677,000.

HUN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Nomura dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup Inc. dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $33.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Huntsman from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.11.

Shares of Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) opened at 8.50 on Friday. Huntsman has a 52 week low of $7.46 and a 52 week high of $24.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion and a PE ratio of 42.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.84.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The company earned $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Huntsman’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Huntsman will post $1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 11th.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) is a manufacturer of differentiated organic chemical products and of inorganic chemical products. The Company is also engaged in performance additives and titanium dioxide business. The Company also offers titanium dioxide, a white pigment derived from titanium bearing ores; functional additives made from barium and zinc-based inorganics; color pigments made from synthetic iron-oxide and other inorganic pigments; timber treatment wood protection chemicals; water treatment products, and specialty automotive molded components. The Company operates in five segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, Textile Effects and Pigments and Additives. Its products are used in a range of applications, including those in the adhesives, aerospace, automotive, construction products, personal care and hygiene, durable and non-durable consumer products, electronics, medical, packaging and paints and coatings.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:HUN

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