Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price target decreased by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $150.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $193.00 to $184.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $167.00 to $148.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $156.75.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE:CE traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $127.09. 1,443,074 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,524. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.33. Celanese has a 52 week low of $110.76 and a 52 week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Celanese by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 310,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,196,000 after acquiring an additional 35,898 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Celanese by 109.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 12,553 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Celanese by 14.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 122,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,011,000 after purchasing an additional 15,643 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Celanese by 41.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 128,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,071,000 after purchasing an additional 37,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Celanese by 264.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after buying an additional 14,103 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.