Celanese (NYSE:CE) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Celanese shares gapped down to $40.00 after UBS Group downgraded the stock's price target from $66.00 to $49.00, closing at $41.81 with a trading volume of over 2.2 million shares.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts have raised their price targets, with Citigroup, Barclays, Mizuho, and KeyCorp reporting target increases, but the overall average consensus remains a "Hold" rating.
• Recently, Celanese announced a $0.03 quarterly dividend, yielding 0.3%, and reported quarterly earnings of $1.44 EPS, exceeding estimates slightly but reflecting a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.5%.

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $49.00. The stock had previously closed at $47.42, but opened at $40.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Celanese shares last traded at $41.81, with a volume of 2,208,193 shares.

CE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Celanese from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.56.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at $807,120.24. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 73.2% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the first quarter valued at $30,000. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 122.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Celanese by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Trading Down 11.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.36.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 11.28% and a negative net margin of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -0.79%.

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.

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