Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 62,560 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,127,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,482,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $297,171,000 after buying an additional 130,702 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,009,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,194,000 after buying an additional 125,595 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,557 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,529,000 after buying an additional 349,502 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,338,000. Finally, Icon Advisers Inc. Co. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 86.3% in the 4th quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 136,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 63,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HUN. Bank of America cut Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Huntsman from $19.00 to $13.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.00.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN traded down $0.23 on Friday, hitting $11.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,970,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,256. The company's fifty day moving average price is $13.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.42. Huntsman Co. has a 1-year low of $11.15 and a 1-year high of $25.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 0.82.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). Huntsman had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a negative return on equity of 0.39%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Huntsman's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Huntsman's payout ratio is currently -109.89%.

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.