Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC Has $945,000 Stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)

Key Points

• Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Celanese Corporation by 152.2%, owning 16,652 shares valued at approximately $945,000 as of the end of the first quarter.
• Celanese reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.37, although revenue was down by 8.5% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.21%, with payment scheduled for August 11th.

Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 152.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,652 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 10,050 shares during the quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Celanese were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Celanese in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 122.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 127.0% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 622 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 739.1% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Celanese in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Performance

NYSE:CE opened at $57.19 on Friday. Celanese Corporation has a 1 year low of $36.29 and a 1 year high of $144.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.38 and a 200-day moving average of $56.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.14.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.20. Celanese had a negative net margin of 16.54% and a positive return on equity of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. Celanese's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation 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, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -0.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,120.24. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Celanese from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Celanese from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.50.

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.

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