Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.19 Million Stock Holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,003 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $13,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Celanese by 92.6% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Celanese by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Celanese during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Romano Brothers AND Company acquired a new position in Celanese during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Celanese by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 92.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $106.90 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.34. Celanese Co. has a twelve month low of $86.71 and a twelve month high of $161.37. The company has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.87, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19.

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.35. Celanese had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Celanese’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CE. Barclays dropped their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Celanese from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Celanese from $146.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Celanese in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.77.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $117.15 per share, with a total value of $140,580.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,240,501.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $107.29 per share, with a total value of $214,580.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,060,332.85. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $117.15 per share, with a total value of $140,580.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $1,240,501.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 4,208 shares of company stock worth $457,664 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Celanese Company Profile

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Celanese Corp. engages in the provision of technology and specialty materials businesses. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow, Acetyl Chain and Other Activities. The Engineered Materials segment includes the engineered materials business, food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates.