FORA Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

FORA Capital LLC grew its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 33.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,328 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $3,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Celanese by 3.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 3.2% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Celanese by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 147,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CE traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.14. 267,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 998,233. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.31. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $71.38 and a 52-week high of $172.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $114.71 and its 200-day moving average is $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Celanese’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CE. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Celanese from $163.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.59.

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.