Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,137 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Celanese worth $10,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Celanese by 588.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Celanese by 92.6% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 158.4% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Celanese in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Performance

Celanese stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $126.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,535. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $86.71 and a 12-month high of $129.27. The company has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $121.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.51.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 9.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CE. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Vertical Research cut shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Celanese from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.13.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. The company 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.