Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $2.12 Million Stock Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 767 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $2,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 92.6% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 142.1% during the fourth 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. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 180.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 83.7% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the first quarter worth $27,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the 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 acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Trading Up 0.5 %

CE traded up $0.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $155.28. 50,109 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 716,528. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $157.84 and its 200 day moving average is $143.56. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CE shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.22.

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.