Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Acquired by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,628 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,510 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Celanese were worth $5,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Celanese by 142.1% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 180.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CE. StockNews.com raised Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Celanese from $165.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler upgraded Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $149.56.

Celanese Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CE traded up $3.65 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 751,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,374. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $159.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 EPS 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 firm's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Celanese's payout ratio is 15.64%.

Insider Activity at Celanese

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