Huntsman Corporation $HUN Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Huntsman Corporation by 12.1%, acquiring an additional 154,219 shares and bringing its total to 1,424,562 shares, valued at approximately $22.5 million.
• Multiple analysts have revised down price targets for Huntsman, with figures ranging from $9.00 to $13.50, reflecting a generally cautious outlook on the stock.
• Huntsman announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with a yield of 10.0%, highlighting its ongoing commitment to returning capital to shareholders despite recent financial challenges.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,424,562 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 154,219 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.82% of Huntsman worth $22,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HUN. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 188.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,269,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135,000 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Huntsman by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,762,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,549 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,181,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Huntsman by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,712,163 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,870,000 after purchasing an additional 650,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Huntsman by 4,078.9% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,015,000 after purchasing an additional 488,035 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUN has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntsman from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.06.

Huntsman Stock Performance

NYSE HUN traded up $0.1550 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.3550. 2,021,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,926,180. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.64 and a 200 day moving average of $13.14. Huntsman Corporation has a 12-month low of $8.91 and a 12-month high of $25.12. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 0.70.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.05). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 2.48% and a negative net margin of 5.75%.The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Huntsman Corporation will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -51.28%.

Huntsman 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.