California Public Employees Retirement System Has $27.59 Million Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,553 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Celanese worth $27,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Celanese by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in Celanese by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 41,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,470,000 after acquiring an additional 17,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CE has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays downgraded Celanese from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.56.

Celanese Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CE traded up $1.29 on Friday, reaching $154.49. The stock had a trading volume of 437,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,611. The stock has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $158.59 and a 200 day moving average of $145.35. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $99.33 and a 12-month high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Celanese's payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

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.