Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 54,144 Shares of Celanese Corporation $CE

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 427,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 54,144 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Celanese were worth $17,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CE. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 182.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,081,458 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $281,157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,109 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,828,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $211,845,000 after buying an additional 120,208 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth $114,934,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,866,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $103,301,000 after acquiring an additional 13,042 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Celanese by 103.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,645,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,056,000 after acquiring an additional 837,944 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE opened at $58.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.08 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.13 and a 200 day moving average of $44.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.63. Celanese Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.13 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 -0.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Chuck Kyrish acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.03 per share, with a total value of $205,150.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,801.42. This trade represents a 84.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Celanese in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $45.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Celanese has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.