Celanese (NYSE:CE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Celanese (NYSE:CE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $110.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $135.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.60% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Celanese from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Celanese from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Celanese from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $115.00 in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Celanese from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Celanese from $170.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.18.

Celanese Stock Performance

NYSE:CE opened at $89.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.31. Celanese has a 1 year low of $89.12 and a 1 year high of $172.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.25 and a 200-day moving average of $137.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 10.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other news, COO Scott A. Richardson sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.51, for a total transaction of $605,459.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,033,840.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 128.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Celanese during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 3,933.3% in the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.