Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 2,741,660 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 1,711,790 shares.The stock last traded at $59.32 and had previously closed at $57.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Celanese from $110.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Celanese from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $84.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Celanese Trading Up 3.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $62.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is currently -0.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Celanese by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Celanese by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Celanese by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Celanese by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.