Celanese (NYSE:CE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $71.50 and last traded at $72.18, with a volume of 112106 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CE shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Celanese from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Celanese from $151.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho cut 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $161.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.35.

Celanese Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.60.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.41). Celanese had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. Celanese’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the second quarter worth $28,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Celanese in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Celanese by 3,933.3% in the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.