Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,173 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Huntsman worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HUN. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Huntsman in the 3rd quarter worth $134,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 1,942.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,628 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huntsman in the 4th quarter worth about $295,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Up 0.9 %

HUN stock opened at $24.53 on Monday. Huntsman Co. has a one year low of $22.14 and a one year high of $29.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of -47.17 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. Huntsman had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 1.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Huntsman’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -192.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Huntsman from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Huntsman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.55.

Huntsman Company Profile

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.