Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Cuts Stake in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 78.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CE. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 128.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Celanese by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in Celanese by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Celanese by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $52.75 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.79, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.17. Celanese Co. has a 52-week low of $51.24 and a 52-week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. Equities analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CE shares. Vertical Research downgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Celanese from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Celanese from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised Celanese to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.00.

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.