Analysts Set Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Target Price at $153.13

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $153.13.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $193.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Celanese from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $156.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Celanese from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $180.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,899,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,560,608,000 after purchasing an additional 90,206 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Celanese by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,077,014 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,031,776,000 after buying an additional 354,367 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Celanese by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,337,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,761,567,000 after buying an additional 329,740 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Celanese by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,529,064 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,325,161,000 after buying an additional 1,302,758 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Celanese by 0.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,158,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,058,447,000 after buying an additional 21,085 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE CE traded down $1.39 on Friday, hitting $120.05. 1,048,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 748,470. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Celanese has a fifty-two week low of $110.76 and a fifty-two week high of $172.16. The company has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.83.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 18.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Celanese's payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

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.