Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 310,204 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,196,000 after purchasing an additional 35,898 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 109.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,047 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 12,553 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 122,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,011,000 after acquiring an additional 15,643 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 447.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Celanese by 41.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 128,423 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,071,000 after purchasing an additional 37,577 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of Celanese stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 924,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,472. The business's fifty day moving average price is $133.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.72. Celanese Co. has a one year low of $110.76 and a one year high of $172.16. The firm has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 18.24%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $156.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Celanese from $167.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,033,840.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.