BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 277,158 Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 174.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 277,158 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.25% of Huntsman worth $7,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HUN. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 174.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 2,788 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Trading Up 2.3%

Huntsman stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,923,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,006. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.03 and a 200-day moving average of $16.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of -11.52 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 one year low of $11.15 and a one year high of $25.78.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. Huntsman's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.06) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Huntsman's payout ratio is -109.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HUN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Huntsman from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Huntsman from $19.00 to $13.50 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.00.

Huntsman 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.