Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,905 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CE. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Celanese by 142.1% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Celanese by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 83.7% in the 3rd 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, Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Celanese Price Performance

CE stock opened at $155.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $160.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.29. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $103.23 and a 52-week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.17. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Celanese from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.78.

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.