Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,376,304 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 73,464 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.79% of Huntsman worth $21,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HUN. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman in the fourth quarter valued at about $387,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the fourth quarter worth about $5,475,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 31,694 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 5,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the fourth quarter worth about $373,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Trading Down 3.3%

HUN stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.49. 2,992,481 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,871,275. Huntsman Corporation has a 52-week low of $10.13 and a 52-week high of $25.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.40 and a 200-day moving average of $14.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 0.70.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.65% and a negative net margin of 2.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.70%. Huntsman's payout ratio is -109.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Huntsman from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.28.

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.