Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Sold by Curbstone Financial Management Corp

Curbstone Financial Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Celanese were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 92.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA grew its position in shares of Celanese by 2.9% during the first quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 3,424 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 6,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Celanese by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE CE traded up $2.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $126.67. 114,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,244,678. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.32. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $86.71 and a 52-week high of $129.27.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results 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). Celanese had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.99 EPS. Celanese’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were paid 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 yield of 2.21%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America lowered shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded 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, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.