Celanese (NYSE:CE) PT Raised to $190.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price target increased by KeyCorp from $176.00 to $190.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.68% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Celanese in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Celanese from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Celanese from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.22.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE stock opened at $160.10 on Tuesday. Celanese has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.43.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Celanese will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly purchased 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Celanese by 51.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,431 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Celanese by 6.8% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,065,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its stake in Celanese by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 37,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,265 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently 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.