Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 1,453.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 953,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 892,391 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $66,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Celanese in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 23,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Celanese by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 57,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Celanese by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 31,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE CE opened at $57.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Celanese Co. has a one year low of $45.94 and a one year high of $172.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.62 and its 200-day moving average is $84.34.

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

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s payout ratio is -0.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup upgraded Celanese to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.94.

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.