Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $7.17 Million in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 103,572 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $7,168,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of Celanese at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in Celanese by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Celanese Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CE traded down $0.53 on Tuesday, hitting $58.91. 939,020 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,718,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. Celanese Co. has a 52 week low of $45.94 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average price is $62.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.82.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -0.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Celanese from $110.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.67.

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.