Huntsman Corporation $HUN Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its Huntsman stake by 162.1% in the first quarter, purchasing 338,715 additional shares to hold 547,715 shares valued at approximately $7.29 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.81% of HUN.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $13.67. Recent targets range from $11 to $16, while Huntsman’s shares opened at $11.74 after an reported 8.3% decline.
• Huntsman beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.20 per share versus the projected $0.23 loss, while revenue reached $1.42 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.0875, equivalent to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 162.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 547,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 338,715 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.31% of Huntsman worth $7,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HUN. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 44,574 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 43,022 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Huntsman by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Huntsman by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,566 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HUN. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Huntsman from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Huntsman from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $12.00 target price on Huntsman in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Huntsman from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Huntsman Stock Down 8.3%

NYSE:HUN opened at $11.74 on Tuesday. Huntsman Corporation has a 52 week low of $7.30 and a 52 week high of $16.08. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.39 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 4.60% and a negative net margin of 5.83%.The company's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Huntsman's payout ratio is currently -18.23%.

Huntsman Company 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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