Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,337,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 261,528 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $129,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUN. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 2nd quarter worth $2,180,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Huntsman by 383.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,113 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new position in Huntsman during the 1st quarter worth about $793,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 654,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,893,000 after purchasing an additional 81,109 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 413,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,403,000 after purchasing an additional 203,662 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntsman

In other Huntsman news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 20,201 shares of Huntsman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $432,705.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Price Performance

Shares of HUN stock opened at $19.94 on Tuesday. Huntsman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.11 and a fifty-two week high of $27.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.90 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.65.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. Huntsman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Huntsman Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio 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.