Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 26,643 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $778,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of Celanese stock opened at $154.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is 15.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CE. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.56.

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.