New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Position in Celanese Corporation $CE

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Celanese worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Celanese by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Celanese by 55.4% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 100.0% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Celanese by 99.0% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, CFO Chuck Kyrish bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.03 per share, with a total value of $205,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $447,801.42. This trade represents a 84.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Celanese from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Celanese from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Celanese from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.44.

Celanese Stock Performance

NYSE:CE opened at $55.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 1.12. Celanese Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-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.

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

Celanese Profile

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.