Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Raised to $167.00 at Citigroup

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $150.00 to $167.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Celanese from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America cut shares of Celanese from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $124.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Celanese from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $149.22.

Celanese Price Performance

CE stock opened at $156.04 on Wednesday. Celanese has a 12 month low of $99.33 and a 12 month high of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $157.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.93. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Celanese’s payout ratio is 15.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,588. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.85, for a total transaction of $313,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 76,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 597 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.43 per share, with a total value of $93,388.71. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,588. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Celanese during the first quarter valued at $218,000. Ignite Planners LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese during the first quarter valued at $202,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in Celanese by 1.5% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 8,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Celanese by 3.5% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Celanese during the first quarter valued at $1,475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

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.