Celanese (NYSE:CE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,389,148 shares traded 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Celanese from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $138.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp cut Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.59.

Celanese Price Performance

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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.77. The company has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its 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). Celanese had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese Co. will post 8.38 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in Celanese by 155.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 213,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,049,000 after acquiring an additional 130,037 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 233,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,744,000 after purchasing an additional 41,598 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $134,723,000 after purchasing an additional 69,606 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in Celanese by 447.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Celanese by 608.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 689,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,754,000 after purchasing an additional 592,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.