Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.56.

CE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Celanese Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CE opened at $157.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. Celanese has a 1-year low of $99.33 and a 1-year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.05). Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at $8,934,933.87. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 83.7% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Celanese during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 180.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.