Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 13,503 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,201 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,503 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Celanese worth $17,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in Celanese by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,441 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Celanese by 3.1% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,188 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 13.4% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Celanese by 20.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 585 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CE traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.23. 766,369 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 916,657. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $123.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. Celanese Co. has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. Celanese's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese's payout ratio is presently 28.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $9,033,840.54. This represents a 6.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut Celanese from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $138.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Celanese from $163.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.35.

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.