Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 56,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,296 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $8,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 77,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,088,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the fourth quarter worth $274,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 21,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 8,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 8,658 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,455 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CE shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $165.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Up 1.2 %

CE stock opened at $159.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Celanese Co. has a 1 year low of $99.33 and a 1 year high of $172.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (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 net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.64%.

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.