Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $120.59.

Several research analysts recently commented on CE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Celanese from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Celanese from $163.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Celanese Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $72.19 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.41. The firm has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Celanese has a 12 month low of $71.45 and a 12 month high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Celanese will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Celanese’s payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Celanese by 27.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,460,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,286,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,362 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 608.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 689,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,754,000 after purchasing an additional 592,196 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 528.9% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 260,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,142,000 after buying an additional 219,095 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,606,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,145,000 after buying an additional 177,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Celanese by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,161,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $156,663,000 after buying an additional 150,201 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.