Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 74.9% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Huntsman by 174.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 2,788 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE HUN opened at $12.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.96. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Huntsman Co. has a 1 year low of $11.15 and a 1 year high of $25.78.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.89%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -109.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HUN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huntsman from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $20.00 to $13.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America downgraded Huntsman from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.