Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 2,741,660 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 1,711,790 shares.The stock last traded at $59.32 and had previously closed at $57.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CE. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Celanese from $110.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup raised shares of Celanese to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Celanese Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.25.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese Co. will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -0.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Celanese by 103.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 739.1% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% 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.