Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE – Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 189,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 24,586 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.17% of Celanese worth $20,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 92.6% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Celanese by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in Celanese by 2.9% during the first quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 3,424 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Celanese by 1.6% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 6,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Celanese by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity at Celanese
In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $107.29 per share, with a total value of $214,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 47,165 shares in the company, valued at $5,060,332.85. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Celanese Stock Performance
Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.29). Celanese had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.99 earnings per share. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Celanese Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently 24.10%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts recently commented on CE shares. BMO Capital Markets cut Celanese from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Celanese from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. 22nd Century Group restated a “downgrade” rating on shares of Celanese in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.67.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CE
Celanese Company Profile
Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. The company 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.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Celanese
- 3 Natural Gas Stocks That Offer Great Dividend Yields
- 3 Sizzling Dividends That Are Going On Sale
- What is Insider Trading? What You Can Learn from Insider Trading
- 3 Ways To Trade, Trade Desk Stock Post Earnings
- Unveiling The Power Of VWAP: A Key Indicator For Traders
- Inflation, The Fed, and Oil Prices: Interest Rates Are Going Up
Receive News & Ratings for Celanese Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Celanese and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
