Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Lowers Stock Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp cut its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 60.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,252 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Celanese were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CE. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 180.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 142.1% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the first quarter worth $31,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Down 0.8 %

Celanese stock opened at $137.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.77. Celanese Co. has a 52 week low of $105.15 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Celanese from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Celanese from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Celanese from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.41.

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.