Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Celanese (NYSE:CE)

Key Points

• Traders have significantly increased their activity in Celanese put options, purchasing 9,847 contracts on Tuesday, marking a 567% increase from the average volume of 1,476.
• Celanese's stock price fell to $41.63, with a notable trading volume of 4,323,954 shares exchanged compared to its average of 2,784,210 shares.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 9,847 put options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately567% compared to the average volume of 1,476 put options.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CE traded down $5.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.63. 4,323,954 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,784,210. Celanese has a 1-year low of $36.29 and a 1-year high of $142.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.74, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $55.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.36.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is -0.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Celanese from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Celanese from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Celanese from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Celanese from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Celanese

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 1,479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at $807,120.24. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CE. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Celanese in the 1st quarter valued at $292,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Celanese in the 1st quarter valued at $907,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Celanese by 127.0% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 622 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Celanese by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 33,508 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 11,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is 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.

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