Celanese (NYSE:CE) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $52.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Celanese traded as low as $39.62 and last traded at $41.65, with a volume of 1397850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.20.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CE. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 317.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Celanese by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in Celanese by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 16,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 8,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth $1,952,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Down 13.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.93, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.42 and a 200 day moving average of $82.15.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

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.