Celanese (NYSE:CE) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $59.16, but opened at $56.20. Celanese shares last traded at $58.07, with a volume of 402,936 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Celanese from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $84.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.94.

Celanese Trading Down 1.7 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34.

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

Celanese Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 45.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 4,908 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Celanese by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 107,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,949,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Celanese by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 65,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,898,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Celanese by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 147,001 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,986,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Celanese by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during 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.