Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stock Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 43.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,663 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.17% of Celanese worth $24,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Celanese by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,899,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,560,608,000 after acquiring an additional 90,206 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,077,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,031,776,000 after purchasing an additional 354,367 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,337,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,761,567,000 after purchasing an additional 329,740 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Celanese by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,529,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,325,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,758 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Celanese by 0.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,158,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,058,447,000 after purchasing an additional 21,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $126.90 on Friday. Celanese Co. has a 1 year low of $110.76 and a 1 year high of $172.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.90. The company has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. Celanese’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CE. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $167.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Celanese from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,033,840.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.