Panagora Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,941 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Celanese were worth $824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CE. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Celanese by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,137,688 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $953,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852,099 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,529,064 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,325,161,000 after buying an additional 1,302,758 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Celanese by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,809,178 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,300,907,000 after buying an additional 468,003 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,077,014 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,031,776,000 after acquiring an additional 354,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Celanese by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,337,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,761,567,000 after acquiring an additional 329,740 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Celanese stock traded down $5.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.25. 991,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,611. Celanese Co. has a 1 year low of $110.76 and a 1 year high of $172.16. The firm has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock's fifty day moving average is $133.62 and its 200 day moving average is $147.39.

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

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Celanese's payout ratio is 15.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CE shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Celanese from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Celanese from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Celanese

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.