Celanese (NYSE:CE) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $84.51 and last traded at $84.51, with a volume of 8872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $151.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.35.

Celanese Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.40.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 10.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Celanese by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 14,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Celanese in the third quarter worth $397,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Celanese by 8.8% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Celanese by 608.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 689,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $93,754,000 after buying an additional 592,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

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.