Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,046,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,361 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.97% of Celanese worth $107,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Celanese by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Celanese by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 92.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $107.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $86.71 and a 52-week high of $161.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.14. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 23.75%. Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 1,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $101.69 per share, for a total transaction of $102,503.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,597 shares in the company, valued at $1,179,298.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CE shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Celanese from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of Celanese from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.77.

Celanese 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.