ING Groep NV Increases Stake in Celanese Corporation $CE

ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) by 602.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 286,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,700 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Celanese were worth $12,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Celanese by 41.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 9,543 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 265.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 7.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 2.9% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 33,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE opened at $60.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.39 and its 200 day moving average is $44.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.12. Celanese Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-month high of $70.51.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently -0.42%.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, CFO Chuck Kyrish bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.03 per share, with a total value of $205,150.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 10,914 shares in the company, valued at $447,801.42. This trade represents a 84.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CE. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Celanese from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Celanese from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Friday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.44.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products serving diverse industries. The company operates through two primary business segments—Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain—offering solutions that range from high-performance polymers and specialty additives to industrial chemicals and intermediates. Its engineered materials are used in applications such as automotive components, consumer electronics, medical devices and packaging, while its acetyl derivatives find uses in coatings, adhesives, solvents and personal care products.

In the Engineered Materials segment, Celanese produces a variety of high-performance thermoplastics, polyether-block-amide (PEBA) elastomers and functional additives designed to enhance product durability, thermal resistance and sustainability.