Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) Stake Lifted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Celanese Corporation by purchasing 453,544 shares, resulting in a total holding of 812,967 shares worth approximately $46.15 million.
• Celanese reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.38, and total revenue of $2.53 billion, slightly above the forecast of $2.50 billion.
• Significant changes in ownership occurred as institutional investors collectively own 98.87% of Celanese, indicating strong institutional confidence in the stock.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 126.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 812,967 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 453,544 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.74% of Celanese worth $46,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,168,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 102.4% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 3,269 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 352,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,391,000 after buying an additional 70,703 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Celanese by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,193 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at about $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 1,479 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,120.24. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Celanese Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CE traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,772,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,702. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.64. Celanese Corporation has a twelve month low of $36.29 and a twelve month high of $142.54. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Celanese's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Celanese's payout ratio is -0.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research raised Celanese to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Celanese from $67.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Celanese from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Celanese from $65.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.94.

Celanese 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.