Choreo LLC Raises Stock Position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,916 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC's holdings in Celanese were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the first quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $119.88. 650,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,451. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.19. The company has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Celanese Co. has a 12-month low of $110.76 and a 12-month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. Celanese's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 30th. Celanese's payout ratio is 15.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Celanese from $170.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Celanese from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $153.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction of $605,459.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares in the company, valued at $9,033,840.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.