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

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at UBS Group from $51.00 to $66.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 6.43% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Celanese from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho set a $45.00 price objective on Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up previously 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 given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.61.

Celanese Stock Up 2.0%

CE stock traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.01. 937,531 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,292,079. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.14. Celanese has a 1-year low of $36.29 and a 1-year high of $147.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.84.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 16.54% and a positive return on equity of 11.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 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, for a total transaction of $77,174.22. Following the purchase, the senior vice president owned 15,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,120.24. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Celanese by 13.0% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 15,391,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $873,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,354 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Celanese by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,969,284 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $274,714,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,025 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 134.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,566,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $202,455,000 after buying an additional 2,044,662 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 266.7% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,506,440 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $242,681,000 after buying an additional 2,550,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,815,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.