Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Position in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Celanese Corporation by 37.1%, acquiring an additional 7,176 shares, bringing its total ownership to 26,497 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for Celanese, with Wells Fargo increasing it from $66.00 to $72.00 and Mizuho from $50.00 to $59.00, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Celanese recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, with a payout ratio currently at -0.79%, indicating potential challenges in sustaining dividends amidst its financials.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,497 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 7,176 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Celanese were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 145,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,123 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 3,526.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 19,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 18,974 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,969,284 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $274,714,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033,025 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,168,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $637,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Stock Down 13.0%

CE traded down $6.17 on Tuesday, hitting $41.25. The company had a trading volume of 12,782,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,839,785. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.36. Celanese Corporation has a 12-month low of $36.29 and a 12-month high of $142.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 11.28% and a negative net margin of 16.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Celanese's payout ratio is presently -0.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Celanese presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.56.

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.