Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires 2,135,000 Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 188.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,135,000 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $58,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 174.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Price Performance

HUN stock opened at $12.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.76 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. Huntsman Co. has a 52-week low of $11.15 and a 52-week high of $25.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.99.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is presently -109.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HUN. Bank of America downgraded Huntsman from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $22.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Huntsman from $20.00 to $13.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Huntsman from $19.00 to $13.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised Huntsman from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

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.