Woodline Partners LP Takes Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Celanese by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Celanese by 739.1% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in Celanese by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caption Management LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

Celanese stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $54.56. 1,671,498 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,210,149. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of -3.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.09. Celanese Co. has a one year low of $36.29 and a one year high of $152.50.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.20. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -0.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Celanese in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Celanese from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Celanese from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 now directly owns 15,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,120.24. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.