Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,389,148 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the previous session’s volume of 1,002,179 shares.The stock last traded at $74.27 and had previously closed at $72.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CE shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Celanese from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $76.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Celanese from $132.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.59.

Celanese Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.43 and a 200 day moving average of $127.77.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Celanese Co. will post 8.38 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Celanese by 128.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 3,933.3% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.