Huntsman Corporation $HUN Stake Lowered by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC sharply reduced its Huntsman stake by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 38,000 shares valued at about $380,000.
• Huntsman’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.20 per share on revenue of $1.42 billion, slightly above analyst estimates.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $13.17, even as some firms recently raised their targets and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0875 per share.

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 86,047 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Huntsman were worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 44,574 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 599,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 1.1% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 162,513 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 2.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 76,769 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $13.17.

Huntsman Stock Up 0.1%

Huntsman stock opened at $14.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Huntsman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.30 and a fifty-two week high of $15.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.77.

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

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

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

About Huntsman

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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