Short Interest in Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Rises By 5.9%

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,190,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the August 31st total of 4,900,000 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 908,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Celanese Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of CE traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $135.02. The stock had a trading volume of 689,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,973. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.30. 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 has a 1-year low of $110.76 and a 1-year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Celanese will post 10.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 30th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Celanese from $170.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Celanese from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.13.

Insider Activity

In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total value of $605,459.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Celanese during the second quarter worth $1,434,000. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Celanese during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,247,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 157.8% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 46,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 28,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter valued at about $255,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.