AGF Management Ltd. Takes Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 34,090 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,359,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Celanese by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the third quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Celanese in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on Celanese from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.18.

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Celanese Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of CE traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.26. 1,671,837 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,602,141. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.11, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $63.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.72. Celanese Co. has a 1 year low of $45.94 and a 1 year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued 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%.

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.