Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Lowered to $101.00 at Barclays

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $151.00 to $101.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Celanese from $193.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $167.00 to $163.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $115.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.18.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE traded down $1.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.78. 807,907 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 839,817. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.31. Celanese has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.06 and a 200-day moving average of $137.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 18.24%. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Celanese will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CE. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 608.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 689,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,754,000 after buying an additional 592,196 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 13,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Celanese by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 6,907 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 15.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neumann Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.