Citigroup Reports on Celanese (CE)

In a report released yesterday, Citigroup commented on Celanese Corporation CE. In the report, Citigroup was positive in its assessment of the company. Citi writes, “CE is sticking to its acetyls roots, but innovating on processes to make products cheaper. Most chemical companies are focused on new products, but CE has found a niche in process innovation. Today the company introduced three technologies—(a) AOPlus 3 technology for acetic acid with a capital advantage of 3x its nearest competitor and 5-8x lower than China, (b) Vantage 2 for VAM could increase existing capacity by 50% at a 15% capital advantage and (c) Coal-to-ethanol technology in China, which we believe could add $0.60-$1.10 to EPS.” Citigroup has a Buy/High Risk rating on the company and a target price of $63. Shares of Celanese closed at $52.08 yesterday, up from the opening price of $51.13.