Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 22,396 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.15% of Celanese worth $11,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Celanese by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,123,000 after buying an additional 4,908 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased 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 acquiring an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Celanese by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Celanese by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 46,723 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

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Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE stock traded down $6.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.83. 5,313,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,856,778. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of -2.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $39.62 and a 12 month high of $169.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.15.

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, 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 business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Celanese's payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $77.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.61.

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.