Celanese (NYSE:CE) Downgraded to “Sell” at Vertical Research

Vertical Research downgraded shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $130.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CE. Piper Sandler cut shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $193.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $170.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.44.

Celanese Stock Down 2.4 %

Celanese stock opened at $126.88 on Tuesday. Celanese has a twelve month low of $110.76 and a twelve month high of $172.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.29. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Celanese will post 10.32 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction of $605,459.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,840.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 13,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its holdings in Celanese by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Celanese by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Celanese by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

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.