Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,145 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. State of Wyoming raised its position in Celanese by 122.5% in the 4th 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. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Celanese by 739.1% in the 4th 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. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Celanese in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in Celanese in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Down 4.6%

NYSE:CE traded down $2.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $58.10. 1,624,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,289,924. Celanese Corporation has a one year low of $36.29 and a one year high of $147.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.79. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of -3.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.14.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 16.54% and a positive return on equity of 11.28%. The business's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -0.79%.

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 stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.18 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CE shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Celanese from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Celanese from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.50.

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.