Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Stock Holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,100 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.13% of Celanese worth $9,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CE. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Celanese by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,213 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Celanese by 157.8% during the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,124 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 8,269 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Celanese during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Celanese during the fourth quarter worth approximately $768,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of CE traded up $0.94 on Thursday, reaching $45.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,583,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,060,736. Celanese Co. has a twelve month low of $36.29 and a twelve month high of $169.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of -3.26, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.80 and a 200 day moving average of $69.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -0.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Celanese from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down from $50.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.33.

About Celanese

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.