Empowered Funds LLC Invests $8.30 Million in Huntsman Corporation $HUN

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 781,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,296,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman during the second quarter valued at approximately $193,750,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,817,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Huntsman by 83.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351,265 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntsman by 29.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,878,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 476.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,841,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,598 shares during the period. 84.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HUN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Huntsman from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $12.00 target price on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Huntsman from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Huntsman from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Huntsman from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.50.

Huntsman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HUN opened at $9.49 on Friday. Huntsman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.30 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.12 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Huntsman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0875 per share. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -33.65%.

Insider Transactions at Huntsman

In related news, CEO Peter R. Huntsman acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.81 per share, for a total transaction of $981,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 7,256,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,184,705.21. This represents a 1.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Company Profile

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.