Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 53,372 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.14% of Celanese worth $23,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 83.7% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Celanese by 142.1% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Up 0.4 %

CE stock opened at $163.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.35. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s payout ratio is 15.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of Celanese 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. 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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly purchased 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.