Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 343,964 Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,270,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 343,964 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.73% of Huntsman worth $22,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 320.2% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,695,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,663,000 after buying an additional 3,578,100 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Huntsman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,464,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,376,868 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,825,000 after purchasing an additional 357,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 6.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 349,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at $5,475,000. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HUN. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Huntsman from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Huntsman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntsman presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Huntsman Stock Performance

Huntsman stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $13.69. The company had a trading volume of 204,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,340,627. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.24 and a 200-day moving average of $18.60. Huntsman Co. has a 52 week low of $11.90 and a 52 week high of $25.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.45 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.30%. Huntsman's dividend payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

About Huntsman

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.