Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Cut to $46.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $60.00 to $46.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.72.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CE opened at $40.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.91, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Celanese has a 1-year low of $36.75 and a 1-year high of $169.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.74 and a 200-day moving average of $80.90.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s payout ratio is -0.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Celanese in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Celanese by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 122.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group lifted its position in Celanese by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Celanese by 739.1% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

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.