Analysts Set Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) PT at $120.59

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $120.59.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CE shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Celanese from $132.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler downgraded Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut Celanese from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CE. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Celanese by 128.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 3,933.3% during the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 242 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Celanese during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CE traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.86. 3,538,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,641. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.31. Celanese has a 52 week low of $71.38 and a 52 week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese's payout ratio is 28.17%.

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.