IFM Investors Pty Ltd Trims Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 725 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Celanese were worth $3,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Celanese by 142.1% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Celanese by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 180.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE traded up $1.29 on Friday, reaching $154.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,611. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $99.33 and a 52-week high of $172.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $158.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were bought 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 owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of Celanese 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lowered Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.56.

Celanese 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.