Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,138,234 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 82,967 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.81% of Huntsman worth $56,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 31,694 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,550 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 11,120 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.67. 2,923,677 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,582,006. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $14.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Huntsman Co. has a 1-year low of $11.15 and a 1-year high of $25.78.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.06) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Huntsman's payout ratio is currently -109.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on HUN. UBS Group cut their target price on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Huntsman from $19.00 to $13.50 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America downgraded Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $22.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Huntsman from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.00.

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.