Celanese (NYSE:CE) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $54.25 and last traded at $55.54, with a volume of 2201966 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CE. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Celanese from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Celanese from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.53.

Celanese Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $68.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.67.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. Analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -20.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Celanese by 128.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Celanese during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Celanese by 103.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in Celanese by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group grew its position in Celanese by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.