Citigroup Cuts Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target to $73.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Citigroup from $100.00 to $73.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.45% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $102.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp lowered Celanese from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Celanese from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Celanese from $120.00 to $86.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.39.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE stock traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $67.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,983. Celanese has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $172.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.53.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CE. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 128.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Celanese in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Celanese by 3,933.3% in the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 242 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 401 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.