Celanese (NYSE:CE) Upgraded at Cfra Research

Key Points

• Celanese has been upgraded by Cfra Research to a "moderate sell" rating, reflecting a cautious outlook on the company’s stock performance.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other analysts have reduced their price targets for Celanese, with the consensus now at $59.94, indicating mixed sentiment among analysts—one sell rating, eleven holds, and six buys.
• During the last quarter, Celanese reported earnings of $1.44 EPS, surpassing estimates, but its revenue declined by 4.5% compared to the previous year, raising concerns about future growth.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Cfra Research to a "moderate sell" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Celanese from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets set a $47.00 price target on Celanese and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Celanese from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $52.00 price target on Celanese and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Celanese from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.94.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE opened at $42.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.96. Celanese has a one year low of $36.29 and a one year high of $142.54. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. The firm's revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 1,479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price 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 $807,120.24. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CE. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 182.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,081,458 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $281,157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,109 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Celanese by 266.7% in the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,506,440 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $242,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550,334 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 4,506.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,344,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $162,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293,764 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $114,934,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Celanese by 134.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,566,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $202,455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,662 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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