Celanese (NYSE:CE) Given New $66.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $51.00 to $66.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.79% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CE. Mizuho set a $45.00 price objective on Celanese in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Celanese from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.61.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of Celanese stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.67. 1,386,450 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,297,264. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $54.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.14. Celanese has a 12 month low of $36.29 and a 12 month 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.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.20. Celanese had a negative net margin of 16.54% and a positive return on equity of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current 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 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,120.24. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CE. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,489,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 53.8% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in Celanese by 8.4% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 16,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in Celanese by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Celanese by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 20,823 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.