Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Shares Bought by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) by 42.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Celanese accounts for 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Celanese were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CE. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Celanese by 3.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Celanese by 0.6% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 14,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 51.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE:CE traded down $3.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.61. 390,336 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 699,764. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $158.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.36. Celanese Co. has a 1-year low of $99.33 and a 1-year high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. Celanese’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Celanese Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America cut Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly purchased 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.