Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stock Position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,430 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 64,975 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Huntsman were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,482,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,171,000 after purchasing an additional 130,702 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,557 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,529,000 after buying an additional 349,502 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 320.2% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,695,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,578,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,522 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $62,538,000 after acquiring an additional 40,330 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,464,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Performance

HUN traded up $0.32 on Tuesday, reaching $13.09. The company had a trading volume of 6,701,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,231. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Huntsman Co. has a 1 year low of $11.90 and a 1 year high of $25.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.11.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.64%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is presently -90.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America lowered Huntsman from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.67.

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.