Pzena Investment Management LLC Takes $27.05 Million Position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,117,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,045,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its holdings in Huntsman by 0.3% during the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 152,577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 24,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Huntsman by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,771 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 94,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HUN. UBS Group cut their price objective on Huntsman from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Huntsman from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Huntsman from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.75.

Insider Transactions at Huntsman

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of HUN traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.31. 134,626 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,904,205. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.04 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.76. Huntsman Co. has a 12-month low of $19.14 and a 12-month high of $27.01.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.99% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -144.93%.

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.