Celanese (NYSE:CE) Stock Price Target Lowered at Wells Fargo & Company

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.88% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 target price on Celanese in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Celanese from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Celanese from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Celanese in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.56.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of Celanese stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.05. 276,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,164. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Celanese has a fifty-two week low of $35.13 and a fifty-two week high of $70.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.43.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.09. Celanese had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Celanese will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Murray purchased 2,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $45.52 per share, for a total transaction of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,385,264.64. The trade was a 7.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $614,675,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 391,204 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $143,849,000 after buying an additional 993,193 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter worth $62,580,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter worth $44,564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Key Celanese News

Here are the key news stories impacting Celanese this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets after the results: Deutsche Bank lifted its target to $60 and kept a Buy rating; Citi raised its target to $65 with a Buy rating; JPMorgan raised its target to $77 and maintained Overweight. Barclays raised its target to $57 but retained Equal Weight. Deutsche Bank target update Citi target update JPMorgan target update Barclays target update
• Positive Sentiment: Celanese is targeting $700 million to $800 million in 2027 free cash flow, with cost reductions and lower interest expense expected to contribute. The cash-generation outlook may help ease investor concerns about its debt burden. 2027 free cash flow outlook
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced price increases for select polyamide and polyester products in Asia, a potential support for revenue and margins if customers accept the higher prices. Asia price increases
• Positive Sentiment: Celanese’s partnership with Röchling Industrial aims to expand lower-carbon POM applications, offering potential longer-term opportunities as demand for lower-carbon materials grows. Röchling partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS of $1.65 topped the $1.56 consensus, and shares were reported to gap higher after the results. But revenue of $2.56 billion fell short of the $2.62 billion estimate, leaving a mixed top-line and earnings picture. Shares gap higher after earnings

Celanese Company Profile

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.