Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.56.

Several analysts have commented on CE shares. Piper Sandler raised Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $165.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Celanese Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CE opened at $163.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. Celanese has a 52-week low of $99.33 and a 52-week high of $172.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Celanese will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.64%.

Insider Transactions at Celanese

In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at $8,934,933.87. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 5,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Celanese by 2.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,078 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Celanese by 7.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 60,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,309,000 after acquiring an additional 3,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.