Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Raised to $66.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at UBS Group from $51.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.16% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CE. Bank of America upped their price target on Celanese from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. 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, Mizuho set a $45.00 price target on Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.33.

Celanese Stock Performance

Celanese stock traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.02. The stock had a trading volume of 814,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,301,335. Celanese has a 12 month low of $36.29 and a 12 month high of $147.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $55.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of -4.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.20. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 11.28% and a negative net margin of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 15,468 shares in the company, valued at $807,120.24. This represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Celanese by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in 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. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Celanese by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in Celanese by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 13,442 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 242 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.