Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 8,619 Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 59.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,619 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Celanese were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 36,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Celanese by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 60,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,992 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Celanese by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 5,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CE opened at $73.78 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.42 and a 200-day moving average of $133.74. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese’s payout ratio is 28.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the company’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 value of $605,459.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Celanese from $163.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group cut Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $165.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.35.

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.