Celanese (NYSE:CE) Given a $47.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Celanese (NYSE:CE) has been assigned a $47.00 target price by analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.15% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Celanese from $72.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Celanese from $65.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Celanese from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.94.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of CE opened at $42.67 on Thursday. Celanese has a 12-month low of $36.29 and a 12-month high of $142.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.19 and a two-hundred day simple 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. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of -2.88, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,479 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.18 per share, with a total value of $77,174.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CE. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Celanese in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Celanese in the first quarter worth $30,000. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 122.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 55.4% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.