Celanese (NYSE:CE) Rating Lowered to Underperform at BMO Capital Markets

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $76.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock, down from their prior target price of $138.00. BMO Capital Markets' target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.92% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler downgraded Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday. Mizuho decreased their target price on Celanese from $132.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Celanese from $163.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Celanese presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.35.

Celanese Trading Down 6.7 %

CE traded down $5.70 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.10. 3,045,805 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,363. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $126.33 and its 200 day moving average is $136.40. Celanese has a 12 month low of $79.00 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,033,840.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Celanese by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,441 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Celanese by 3.1% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,188 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Celanese by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 585 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 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.