Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 768.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 423,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375,095 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.39% of Celanese worth $29,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Celanese by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,500,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $611,931,000 after acquiring an additional 136,994 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in Celanese by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 160,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,814,000 after buying an additional 9,782 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Celanese by 157.8% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 8,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $56.79 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.08, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Celanese Co. has a 52 week low of $45.94 and a 52 week high of $171.68.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -0.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Celanese to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.94.

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.