MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,980 Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the first quarter valued at $2,968,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 1.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 59,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,244,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the first quarter valued at $380,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Celanese by 264.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,342,000 after buying an additional 14,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Celanese by 464.6% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Celanese from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Celanese from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Celanese from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Celanese from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.75.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $136.90. The stock had a trading volume of 868,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,769. The company has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Celanese Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.76 and a fifty-two week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.60%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

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.