Celanese (NYSE:CE) Shares Down 5.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Celanese Corporation's stock price dropped by 5.2% after Jefferies Financial Group downgraded its price target from $47.00 to $43.00, maintaining a hold rating on the stock.
• In a recent report, Zacks Research also shifted Celanese's rating from "hold" to "strong sell," while other analysts have set various target prices ranging from $45.00 to $70.00.
• Despite the downgrade, Celanese reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, surpassing analysts’ estimates and showing a revenue of $2.53 billion.

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) was down 5.2% on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $43.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Celanese traded as low as $45.65 and last traded at $46.22. Approximately 366,255 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,759,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.73.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Celanese from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Celanese from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Celanese from $67.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.22.

Insider Activity

In other Celanese news, Director Timothy Go bought 1,039 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $48,053.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,415 shares in the company, valued at $204,193.75. The trade was a 30.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 73.2% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 111.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Celanese in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Celanese by 122.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Celanese by 55.4% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.17.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%.The business's revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.100-1.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given 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 payout ratio is currently -0.81%.

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.