Celanese (NYSE:CE) Stock Bumped Up to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Celanese from “hold” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $61.56.
• Celanese reported quarterly EPS of $1.65, beating the $1.56 consensus, while revenue of $2.56 billion fell short of expectations of $2.62 billion; revenue rose 5.7% year over year.
• Shares were down 2.8%, opening at $46.48, below their 200-day moving average of $51.45.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CE. Citigroup increased their price objective on Celanese from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 target price on Celanese in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Celanese from $72.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Celanese from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.56.

Celanese Stock Down 2.8%

CE stock opened at $46.48 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $46.37 and its 200 day moving average is $51.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.72. Celanese has a 1-year low of $35.13 and a 1-year high of $70.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.62 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 2.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Celanese will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Murray purchased 2,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,385,264.64. The trade was a 7.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Celanese in the 2nd quarter valued at about $614,675,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 18.1% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,547,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $167,565,000 after buying an additional 391,204 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Celanese by 83.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,187,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $143,849,000 after acquiring an additional 993,193 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth $62,580,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Celanese by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 836,733 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,032,000 after buying an additional 65,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation NYSE: CE is a global chemical and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company develops and manufactures engineered materials and chemical products used by manufacturers in industries including automotive, consumer goods, medical and healthcare, electronics, industrial equipment, energy and infrastructure.

Celanese operates primarily through its Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain businesses. Its portfolio includes engineered polymers, thermoplastic compounds and other specialty materials, as well as acetyl products such as acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, emulsions and related intermediates.

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