Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Purchased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Celanese by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Celanese by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its stake in Celanese by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 3.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 14,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Price Performance

CE opened at $161.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.45. Celanese Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.33 and a fifty-two week high of $172.16. 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 (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.64%.

Insider Transactions at Celanese

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, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Celanese presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.94.

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.