Barclays PLC Buys 34,658 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,709 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 34,658 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.26% of Celanese worth $38,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 128.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 3,933.3% during the second 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 purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,360,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,091,241. The business's 50 day moving average price is $98.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.89. Celanese Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $172.16. 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Celanese's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Celanese from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $115.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $163.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese 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.