Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 9,649 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,505 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,649 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Celanese were worth $4,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Celanese by 128.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 3,933.3% in the 2nd 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, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the second quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

NYSE CE traded down $1.16 on Friday, reaching $124.81. The stock had a trading volume of 935,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,232. Celanese Co. has a 1-year low of $114.05 and a 1-year high of $172.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.91.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The business 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 firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese's payout ratio is presently 15.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CE. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Celanese from $193.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.44.

Insider Transactions at Celanese

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.