JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Celanese (NYSE:CE) Stock Price

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $47.00 to $40.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CE. KeyCorp set a $70.00 target price on Celanese and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Celanese from $67.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Celanese from $65.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Celanese from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.94.

Celanese Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $42.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Celanese has a 12-month low of $36.29 and a 12-month high of $142.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.96.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -0.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 1,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.18 per share, with a total value of $77,174.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at $807,120.24. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 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.