GAMMA Investing LLC Takes $172,000 Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Celanese by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Celanese by 180.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased 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 during the period. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE stock opened at $154.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.52 and a 200-day moving average of $144.82. The company has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Celanese Co. has a one year low of $99.33 and a one year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $165.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.56.

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.