Celanese (NYSE:CE) Cut to "Neutral" at UBS Group

UBS Group cut shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $97.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock, down from their previous target price of $161.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. 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 report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Celanese from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.35.

Celanese Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of Celanese stock traded down $5.70 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.10. 3,045,805 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,363. Celanese has a twelve month low of $79.00 and a twelve month high of $172.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 592,196 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 528.9% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 260,523 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,142,000 after acquiring an additional 219,095 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Celanese by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,161,298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $156,663,000 after acquiring an additional 150,201 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 155.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 213,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,049,000 after acquiring an additional 130,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 512.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 118,149 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,064,000 after acquiring an additional 98,860 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.