Celanese (NYSE:CE) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $59.16, but opened at $56.20. Celanese shares last traded at $58.07, with a volume of 402,936 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.94.

Celanese Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.39. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of -4.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Celanese Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. Celanese’s payout ratio is -0.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CE. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Celanese during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 122.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Celanese by 739.1% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.