Celanese (NYSE:CE) PT Raised to $171.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $165.00 to $171.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.72% from the company’s current price.

CE has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Celanese from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Celanese from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.56.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE:CE opened at $154.45 on Friday. Celanese has a 52 week low of $99.33 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.87. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Celanese will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.43 per share, for a total transaction of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray acquired 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,023 shares in the company, valued at $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Celanese by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Celanese by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.