Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Position Boosted by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 202.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,745 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,684 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of Celanese worth $5,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CE. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Celanese during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Celanese by 103.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caption Management LLC acquired a new position in Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE:CE traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.25. 2,396,600 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,150,418. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.09. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $36.29 and a 12 month high of $161.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.75.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The company's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Celanese's payout ratio is -0.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $48.00 price target (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Celanese from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Celanese from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.89.

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.