Waldron Private Wealth LLC Has $811,000 Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 51.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,431 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Celanese by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 1.5% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its position in Celanese by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 37,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,374,000 after buying an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE remained flat at $156.04 on Monday. 55,533 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 718,097. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.36. Celanese Co. has a twelve month low of $99.33 and a twelve month high of $172.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.22.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.