Celanese (NYSE:CE) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $48.93 and last traded at $48.95, with a volume of 1387205 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Celanese from $77.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.31.

Celanese Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of -3.37, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.15.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 5.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Neumann Capital Management LLC grew its position in Celanese by 5.3% during the third quarter. Neumann Capital Management LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Celanese by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

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.