Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.77.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Celanese from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Celanese in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $113.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE opened at $107.38 on Friday. Celanese has a 12-month low of $86.71 and a 12-month high of $161.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $105.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.96.

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.35. Celanese had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 28th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $101.69 per share, for a total transaction of $102,503.52. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,179,298.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Celanese by 51.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,431 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 6.8% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 5.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 1.5% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 12.8% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 37,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after buying an additional 4,265 shares during the period. 92.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Company Profile

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Celanese Corp. engages in the provision of technology and specialty materials businesses. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow, Acetyl Chain and Other Activities. The Engineered Materials segment includes the engineered materials business, food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates.