Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,003,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,187,146 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.98% of Celanese worth $681,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Celanese in the first quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Connable Office Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 34.9% in the first quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 4,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 67.2% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Celanese by 37.1% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 26,497 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after buying an additional 7,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Celanese in the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CE stock opened at $41.93 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.18. Celanese Corporation has a 1-year low of $36.29 and a 1-year high of $142.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of -2.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently -0.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CE shares. KeyCorp set a $70.00 price objective on Celanese and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Celanese from $72.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Celanese from $65.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at $807,120.24. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Celanese

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.