Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,896 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $5,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Huntsman by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 31,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in Huntsman by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 10,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Huntsman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 174.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,788 shares during the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Huntsman Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Huntsman stock opened at $13.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.00. Huntsman Co. has a 52-week low of $12.40 and a 52-week high of $25.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last posted its 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). Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.64%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -90.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HUN. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Huntsman from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Huntsman from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded 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 issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Huntsman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.38.

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.