New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,662 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Celanese worth $12,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Celanese during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 34,937 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $355,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,847 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CE traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 580,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,337. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.80 and a 200-day moving average of $145.85. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $99.33 and a 12-month high of $172.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.36.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. Celanese's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently 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.