Evercore ISI Cuts Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target to $75.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Evercore ISI from $85.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.94.

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Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CE traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $57.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,271,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,729,145. Celanese has a one year low of $45.94 and a one year high of $172.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $62.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.10, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. On average, research analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese's payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Celanese by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Celanese by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Celanese by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Celanese by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.