Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Acquired by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $1,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Celanese in the third quarter worth about $237,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Celanese by 59.1% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Celanese by 11.2% during the third quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Celanese during the third quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Celanese by 1,395.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Celanese

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $193.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Celanese from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.87.

Celanese Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CE opened at $135.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Celanese Co. has a 52 week low of $110.76 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.67.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 18.24%. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 10.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Celanese 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.