UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 36,623 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. decreased its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 352,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 36,623 shares during the quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. owned about 0.32% of Celanese worth $31,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 92.6% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Celanese by 50.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Celanese during the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Celanese from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Celanese from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Celanese from $124.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Celanese from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Celanese from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.00.

Celanese Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE CE opened at $105.24 on Tuesday. Celanese Co. has a one year low of $86.71 and a one year high of $161.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $118.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 6.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). Celanese had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.55 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $117.15 per share, with a total value of $140,580.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,240,501.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Company Profile

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Celanese Corp. engages in the provision of technology and specialty materials businesses. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow, Acetyl Chain and Other Activities. The Engineered Materials segment includes the engineered materials business, food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates.