Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New $3.11 Million Investment in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,105,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Celanese by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 0.6% during the first quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 13,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Celanese by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE CE traded up $1.73 on Monday, reaching $143.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 165,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 718,468. The firm has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.39. Celanese Co. has a 52 week low of $110.76 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 18.60% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Celanese from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Celanese from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Celanese from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Celanese from $167.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.65.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.