Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 10,677 Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,677 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Huntsman by 6.5% in the fourth 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position 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. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,301,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,905,000 after acquiring an additional 70,382 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntsman by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,055,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,937,000 after acquiring an additional 31,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Huntsman by 1.6% in the third 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 last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HUN opened at $17.70 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.65. Huntsman Co. has a 12-month low of $15.46 and a 12-month high of $26.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.09 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NYSE:HUN) last posted 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 return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Analysts predict that Huntsman Co. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio is presently -90.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Huntsman from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Huntsman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Huntsman from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

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.