Celanese (NYSE:CE) Upgraded at Alembic Global Advisors

Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $70.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Vertical Research raised Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE stock opened at $57.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.72. Celanese has a one year low of $45.94 and a one year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -0.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Celanese in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Celanese by 103.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group grew its stake in Celanese by 52.9% in the 4th 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, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 739.1% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.