Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Purchases New Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CE. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 128.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 3,933.3% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Celanese in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $68.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.09. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.17. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $172.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Celanese from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $76.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $165.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Vertical Research lowered Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Celanese from $101.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.56.

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.