Northern Trust Corp Raises Position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,009,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 125,595 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.58% of Huntsman worth $18,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 74.9% in 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. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 174.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUN traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,923,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,237. Huntsman Co. has a 12-month low of $11.15 and a 12-month high of $25.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.89%. Huntsman's payout ratio is presently -109.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on HUN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $19.00 to $13.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lowered Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Huntsman from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.00.

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.