Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.00.

CE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $100.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Celanese from $122.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Celanese from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised Celanese from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $71.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.06 and a 200-day moving average of $109.87. Celanese has a one year low of $64.05 and a one year high of $172.16.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 128.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Celanese by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 1,395.3% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Celanese

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.