Bank of America Lowers Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target to $59.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Bank of America from $65.00 to $59.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 38.27% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp set a $70.00 price target on shares of Celanese and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.94.

Celanese Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $42.67 on Wednesday. Celanese has a 12-month low of $36.29 and a 12-month high of $142.54. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of -2.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.19 and a 200-day moving average of $53.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Celanese had a negative net margin of 16.30% and a positive return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.18 per share, with a total value of $77,174.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at $807,120.24. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CE. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the first quarter worth $30,000. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Celanese by 122.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Celanese by 55.4% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.