AXQ Capital LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Huntsman Corporation $HUN

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP cut its Huntsman position by 62.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 101,991 shares and leaving it with 61,197 shares worth about $612,000.
• Huntsman reported quarterly EPS of -$0.20, beating estimates of -$0.23, while revenue of $1.42 billion also came in above expectations. The company’s stock was down 1.5% and traded at $14.77.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.0875 per share, payable June 30, implying an annualized yield of 2.4%. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Reduce” with a $13.17 price target.

AXQ Capital LP lowered its position in shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 62.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 101,991 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Huntsman were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Huntsman by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,880,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $178,809,000 after buying an additional 1,523,590 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Huntsman by 29.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772,563 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 83.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351,265 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,663,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,836,000 after purchasing an additional 113,613 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,705,178 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $57,052,000 after purchasing an additional 311,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of HUN opened at $14.77 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $13.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.16. Huntsman Corporation has a 1 year low of $7.30 and a 1 year high of $15.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.83% and a negative return on equity of 4.60%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Huntsman's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -18.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on HUN shares. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Huntsman from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Huntsman in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $13.17.

Huntsman Profile

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.

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