Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 610 Shares of Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 372,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 610 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Huntsman worth $9,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntsman during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Huntsman by 204.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 39,749 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 61,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 14,574 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Huntsman by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:HUN opened at $22.73 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Huntsman Co. has a one year low of $21.41 and a one year high of $29.90.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.49% and a positive return on equity of 0.67%. Huntsman’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Huntsman’s payout ratio is currently -192.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Huntsman from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Huntsman from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Huntsman from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Huntsman from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.50.

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.