Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $66.67 and last traded at $66.77, with a volume of 898026 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CE. KeyCorp cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research cut shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Celanese from $101.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.50.

Celanese Stock Down 2.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.42 and a 200 day moving average of $114.47. 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 (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.40%. Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Celanese’s payout ratio is 28.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,036,362 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Celanese by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,500,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $611,931,000 after acquiring an additional 136,994 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $353,145,000 after acquiring an additional 177,552 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Celanese by 14.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,161,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $156,663,000 after purchasing an additional 150,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Celanese by 7.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $134,723,000 after purchasing an additional 69,606 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.