OLD National Bancorp IN Purchases Shares of 1,554 Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 142.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 180.0% during 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 83.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of Celanese stock opened at $153.83 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.36. Celanese Co. has a 1-year low of $99.33 and a 1-year high of $172.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $158.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CE shares. Barclays lowered shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.56.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 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, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.