Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 318,376 Shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Huntsman Corporation by 1,537.5%, acquiring an additional 318,376 shares, bringing its total ownership to 339,084 shares valued at approximately $5.35 million.
• Several financial analysts have recently lowered their target prices for Huntsman, with Morgan Stanley reducing it from $20.00 to $13.50, while the company currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $12.06.
• Huntsman Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 10.6% annual yield, scheduled to be paid on September 30th to shareholders of record on September 15th.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 1,537.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,084 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 318,376 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Huntsman worth $5,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HUN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 177.9% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 2,388.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,081 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,917 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 157.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,869 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE HUN traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,221,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,612,290. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Huntsman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $8.91 and a fifty-two week high of $25.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.13 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.26.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.05). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Huntsman's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HUN. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Huntsman from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.06.

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.