Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 42.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,703 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CE. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Celanese by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Celanese by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in Celanese by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 200.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Celanese by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE opened at $40.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $36.29 and a 52-week high of $169.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.06 and its 200-day moving average is $74.02.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Celanese’s payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CE. StockNews.com lowered shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Celanese from $110.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.33.

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.