Celanese (NYSE:CE) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Celanese from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Celanese in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $127.38.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE opened at $103.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.80. Celanese has a 1 year low of $86.71 and a 1 year high of $161.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.12). Celanese had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.12%.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $117.15 per share, with a total value of $140,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,240,501.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 3.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 112,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,832 shares during the period. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Celanese by 131.2% in the third quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 30,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after buying an additional 17,191 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its position in Celanese by 88.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 164,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,340,000 after buying an additional 77,034 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Celanese in the third quarter valued at about $3,136,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management SA lifted its position in Celanese by 29.6% in the second quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 72,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,542,000 after buying an additional 16,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.54% of the company’s stock.

About Celanese

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Celanese Corp. engages in the provision of technology and specialty materials businesses. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow, Acetyl Chain and Other Activities. The Engineered Materials segment includes the engineered materials business, food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates.