The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $917,000 Investment in Huntsman Corporation $HUN

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 86,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HUN. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 166.7% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Huntsman during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Huntsman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 121.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 3,706 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:HUN opened at $9.62 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.40. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.30 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.25 and a beta of 0.70.

Huntsman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.0875 dividend. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -33.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HUN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Huntsman from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Huntsman from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Huntsman from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter R. Huntsman bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.81 per share, for a total transaction of $981,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,256,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,184,705.21. The trade was a 1.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.