Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 12,513 Shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 65.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,676 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 12,513 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Celanese were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at $3,118,000. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 102.8% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Celanese by 123.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,194 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,037,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,823,000 after purchasing an additional 46,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Celanese by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Celanese stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.88. 1,082,023 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,292,595. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. Celanese Corporation has a twelve month low of $36.29 and a twelve month high of $147.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.14.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.20. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 11.28% and a negative net margin of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is presently -0.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CE. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Celanese from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,120.24. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.