Savant Capital LLC Acquires 1,275 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in Celanese in the third quarter valued at about $237,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 24.3% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 137.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Celanese by 6.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 78,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,712,000 after purchasing an additional 4,794 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Up 4.2 %

CE stock opened at $68.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $64.05 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.72.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CE shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Celanese from $100.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Celanese from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $76.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $98.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

About Celanese

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.