Celanese (NYSE:CE) Releases Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) issued an update on its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.600-3.000 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.920. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.32. 740,833 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 690,940. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $159.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.35. Celanese has a 52 week low of $99.33 and a 52 week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. Celanese's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Celanese will post 11.35 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CE. Barclays lowered shares of Celanese from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an underweight rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Celanese from a buy rating to a sell rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Celanese from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $149.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,934,933.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Celanese news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.