Celanese (NYSE:CE) Announces Earnings Results

Celanese (NYSE:CE) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.04% and a positive return on equity of 13.04%.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE traded down $1.53 on Monday, hitting $47.77. 2,457,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,066,277. Celanese has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-month high of $70.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.06 and a 200-day moving average of $51.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -4.47, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.71.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 27th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 27th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark Murray bought 2,153 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 30,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,385,264.64. The trade was a 7.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $50.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Celanese in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Celanese from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Celanese has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.38.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) is a global chemical and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company develops and manufactures engineered materials and chemical products used by manufacturers in industries including automotive, consumer goods, medical and healthcare, electronics, industrial equipment, energy and infrastructure.

Celanese operates primarily through its Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain businesses. Its portfolio includes engineered polymers, thermoplastic compounds and other specialty materials, as well as acetyl products such as acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, emulsions and related intermediates.