Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Sold by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC lowered its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth approximately $778,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth approximately $951,000. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CE opened at $154.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.64. Celanese Co. has a twelve month low of $99.33 and a twelve month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.