Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $66.67 and last traded at $66.77, with a volume of 898026 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $122.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.50.

Celanese Stock Down 2.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.47. The company has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.17.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,460,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,286,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,362 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Celanese by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,500,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $611,931,000 after buying an additional 136,994 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Celanese by 7.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,606,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,145,000 after buying an additional 177,552 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Celanese by 14.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $134,723,000 after acquiring an additional 69,606 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

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.