Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) Stock Position Raised by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 166.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,144 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Celanese were worth $1,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Celanese by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Caption Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Price Performance

CE traded down $1.69 on Tuesday, reaching $54.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,229,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,194. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.01 and a 200-day moving average of $58.15. Celanese Corporation has a one year low of $36.29 and a one year high of $147.86.

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

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $110.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 15,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,120.24. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company 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.