Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Huntsman Corporation by 97.1%, selling 485,457 shares and holding only 14,543 shares valued at approximately $230,000 at the end of the quarter.
• Major financial institutions have adjusted their positions in Huntsman, with some increasing their holdings drastically; 84.81% of the stock is now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts are taking a bearish stance on Huntsman, with several firms lowering their target prices, resulting in a consensus target price of $12.06 and a majority rating of "Hold."

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 97.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,543 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 485,457 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Huntsman were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HUN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Huntsman by 177.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 2,388.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,081 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 157.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HUN. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America downgraded Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Huntsman from $20.00 to $13.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.06.

Huntsman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUN traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.05. 1,851,723 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,915,001. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.38. Huntsman Corporation has a 1 year low of $8.91 and a 1 year high of $25.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.14 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Huntsman's payout ratio is presently -51.28%.

About Huntsman

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.