Benzinga - by Lekha Gupta, Benzinga Editor.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Aleksey Yefremov upgraded Celanese Corp (NYSE: CE) to Overweight from Sector Weight with a price target of $149.
The analyst thinks the company 'is a compelling way' to play global manufacturing economic stabilization and recovery.
The analyst expects the company's attention to shift to organic growth opportunities in Engineered Materials and the highly cash-generative Acetyls franchise.
The analyst notes CE's debt refinancing has meaningfully lowered the risk-related maturities in 2023-2025 and expects the company to generate enough FCF to cover maturities over the next +2 years.
Yefremov revised FY23 EBITDA and EPS estimates to $2,474.8 million (from $2,455.5 million) vs. consensus of $2,521.8 million and $8.46 (from $8.79) vs. consensus of $9.23, respectively.
Also, the analyst updated the FY24 EBITDA and EPS estimates to $2,951.4 million (from $2,951.6 million) vs. consensus of $2,890.3 million and $12.85 (from $13.36) vs. $12.60 estimate.
Yefremov expects earnings to improve on lower destocking, $0.75-$1.00 of unabsorbed fixed cost recovery in FY24, lower interest expense of $1.00-$1.20 of EPS in FY24, and M&M acquisition synergies.
The analyst expects industry capacity utilization to rise to healthy levels in 2025 and beyond.
Also Read: Celanese's $1B Debt Paydown Possible On Shutting Food Ingredients JV, Working Capital Reduction: Analyst
Price Action: CE shares are trading higher by 0.45% at $126.92 on the last check Wednesday.
Latest Ratings for CE
| Feb 2022 | Deutsche Bank | Maintains | Buy | |
| Feb 2022 | Piper Sandler | Downgrades | Neutral | Underweight |
| Feb 2022 | Piper Sandler | Downgrades | Overweight | Neutral |
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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