Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Cut to $180.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $195.00 to $180.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CE. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Celanese from $147.00 to $144.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $159.41.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE:CE opened at $134.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $150.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.68. Celanese has a 12 month low of $109.38 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.17. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Celanese will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s payout ratio is 15.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in Celanese by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 310,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,196,000 after acquiring an additional 35,898 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 155,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,168,000 after purchasing an additional 36,701 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Celanese during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,879,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Celanese by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,910,000 after buying an additional 6,901 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Whale Capital LLP grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 66,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Celanese

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.