Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Holdings in Celanese Corporation $CE

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 18,365 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.14% of Celanese worth $6,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 149.6% in the second quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 1,248,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,055,000 after acquiring an additional 747,987 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,171,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in Celanese by 163.8% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 42,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,327,000 after buying an additional 26,120 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Celanese by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,866,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $103,301,000 after buying an additional 13,042 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Celanese in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,057,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Celanese from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Celanese from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Celanese from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore dropped their price target on Celanese from $75.00 to $45.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Chuck Kyrish bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.03 per share, with a total value of $205,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 10,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,801.42. This trade represents a 84.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of CE opened at $55.01 on Friday. Celanese Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.13 and a twelve month high of $70.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.11.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 9.87% and a negative net margin of 31.85%.The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products serving diverse industries. The company operates through two primary business segments—Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain—offering solutions that range from high-performance polymers and specialty additives to industrial chemicals and intermediates. Its engineered materials are used in applications such as automotive components, consumer electronics, medical devices and packaging, while its acetyl derivatives find uses in coatings, adhesives, solvents and personal care products.

In the Engineered Materials segment, Celanese produces a variety of high-performance thermoplastics, polyether-block-amide (PEBA) elastomers and functional additives designed to enhance product durability, thermal resistance and sustainability.