Korea Investment CORP Grows Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,663 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.05% of Celanese worth $4,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 8.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 65,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,898,000 after buying an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Celanese by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 472,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $64,298,000 after buying an additional 28,901 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Celanese by 95.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,720 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 116.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Celanese Stock Down 13.5 %

NYSE CE traded down $6.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,313,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,778. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of -2.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.53. Celanese Co. has a 1 year low of $39.62 and a 1 year high of $169.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. On average, research analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors 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 0.29%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is -0.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CE shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Celanese from $110.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.61.

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.