Celanese (NYSE:CE) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $88.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Celanese Stock Performance

Celanese stock opened at $52.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of -3.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.17. Celanese has a 1-year low of $51.24 and a 1-year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. As a group, analysts expect that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is -0.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 155.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 14,184 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 71.1% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the period. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 58,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,047,000 after purchasing an additional 10,798 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 45,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.