Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Raised to $173.00 at Mizuho

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Mizuho from $161.00 to $173.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.93% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Celanese from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised shares of Celanese from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.94.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of Celanese stock opened at $163.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Celanese has a fifty-two week low of $99.33 and a fifty-two week high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 17.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Celanese will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.69 per share, for a total transaction of $219,366.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total value of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Francis Kelly acquired 1,400 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.69 per share, with a total value of $219,366.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 57,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,934,933.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Celanese by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 155,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,168,000 after buying an additional 36,701 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in Celanese in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,879,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Celanese by 39.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 38,334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 10,775 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 14.1% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 131,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,590,000 after purchasing an additional 16,253 shares during the period. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.