Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Makes New Investment in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CE. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Celanese by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 155,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,168,000 after acquiring an additional 36,701 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in Celanese during the third quarter valued at $7,879,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Celanese by 39.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 38,334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 10,775 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Celanese by 14.1% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 131,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,590,000 after acquiring an additional 16,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Celanese during the third quarter valued at $3,453,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CE shares. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays cut shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $165.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Celanese Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CE opened at $154.83 on Tuesday. Celanese Co. has a one year low of $99.33 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.19.

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

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 15.64%.

Celanese Company 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.