Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Free Report) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $77.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Celanese in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Celanese from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Celanese in a report on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Celanese from $72.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.56.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Celanese

Celanese Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Celanese stock traded down $1.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.48. 1,309,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,458. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.45. Celanese has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-month high of $70.70.

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Celanese will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 27th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently 5.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, SVP Mark Murray bought 2,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.52 per share, for a total transaction of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,385,264.64. This represents a 7.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Celanese in the second quarter worth about $614,675,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 18.1% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,547,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $167,565,000 after purchasing an additional 391,204 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 83.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,187,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $143,849,000 after buying an additional 993,193 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Celanese in the second quarter valued at about $62,580,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Celanese by 8.4% during the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 836,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,032,000 after acquiring an additional 65,155 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) is a global chemical and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company develops and manufactures engineered materials and chemical products used by manufacturers in industries including automotive, consumer goods, medical and healthcare, electronics, industrial equipment, energy and infrastructure.

Celanese operates primarily through its Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain businesses. Its portfolio includes engineered polymers, thermoplastic compounds and other specialty materials, as well as acetyl products such as acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, emulsions and related intermediates.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Celanese (NYSE:CE)

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