Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Stake Cut by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 51.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 60,126 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of Celanese worth $3,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Celanese by 103.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE stock opened at $57.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of -4.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Celanese Co. has a 1-year low of $45.94 and a 1-year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Celanese from $77.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.31.

Celanese 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.