Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 2,741,660 shares traded 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CE has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Celanese from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Celanese Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.21, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.39.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 10.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,612 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in Celanese by 18.1% during the third quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 12.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 107,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. 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.