Versor Investments LP Acquires 17,500 Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 165.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the 4th quarter worth about $387,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,376,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,825,000 after purchasing an additional 357,136 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth $897,000. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 79,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 63,085 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 372,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,722,000 after purchasing an additional 108,715 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HUN opened at $16.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -15.36 and a beta of 0.95. Huntsman Co. has a 52 week low of $15.67 and a 52 week high of $27.01.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -90.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.63.

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.