Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Lowered to $47.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $55.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.48% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Celanese from $65.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Celanese from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $52.00 target price on Celanese and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Celanese from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.94.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,772,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,702. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of -2.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.51. Celanese has a 52-week low of $36.29 and a 52-week high of $142.54.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.18 per share, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,120.24. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Celanese by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 73.2% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 7.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 209 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.