Vertical Research Upgrades Celanese (NYSE:CE) to Hold

Celanese (NYSE:CE) was upgraded by research analysts at Vertical Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $66.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Vertical Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Celanese from $75.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Celanese from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Celanese from $73.00 to $46.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Celanese to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.31.

Celanese Price Performance

Celanese stock opened at $54.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.91, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.56 and a 200-day moving average of $92.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Celanese has a 1 year low of $45.94 and a 1 year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 12.86%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,952,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Celanese during the fourth quarter worth $3,736,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 14,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Celanese by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.