Barclays Lowers Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target to $59.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by Barclays from $75.00 to $59.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.86% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CE. StockNews.com cut shares of Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $92.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Celanese from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Celanese from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.00.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE opened at $52.75 on Monday. Celanese has a 52 week low of $51.24 and a 52 week high of $172.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50 day moving average price is $68.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.75.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 6.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 78,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,712,000 after buying an additional 4,794 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Celanese during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,080,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Celanese by 1,074.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,439 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 19,613 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 8.8% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 6,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 17.9% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 21,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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