Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Stake Lifted by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 310,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,898 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.28% of Celanese worth $48,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Celanese by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Celanese during the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Celanese by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Celanese by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

CE traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $152.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 423,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,978. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $103.23 and a twelve month high of $172.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.37.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.83%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Celanese from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Celanese from $153.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.78.

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.