Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Huntsman Corporation $HUN

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 60,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 9,720 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 97.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,137,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,127 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 0.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 599,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Huntsman during the first quarter worth about $680,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Huntsman by 34.5% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 14,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntsman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HUN opened at $11.74 on Tuesday. Huntsman Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.30 and a 1-year high of $16.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.88 and a 200-day moving average of $12.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 0.69.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 4.60% and a negative net margin of 5.83%.The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Huntsman Corporation will post -0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HUN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Huntsman from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Huntsman from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntsman from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

Huntsman Profile

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.