Celanese Corp (CE: 31.04 +0.28 +0.91%) continued its excellent earnings streak as it returned to profitability. Estimates are up and projecting double-digit growth.
Company Description
Celanese is a chemical company that focuses on consumer and industrial applications. The company has significant geographic diversification with 73% of sales coming from outside of North America.
Back in the Black
On Feb 9 Celanese reported fourth-quarter results that showed an 8% increase in sales to almost $1.4 billion. This lead to net income of $5 million, up from a $155 million loss one year ago.
Earnings per share was 50 cents, 3 cents ahead of expectations. Celanese has beat expectations each quarter for the past 3 years.
Analysts React
Since the earnings release we have received 8 upward estimate revisions for full-year 2010, driving the consensus to $2.82, from $2.56. Forecasts for next year are averaging $3.28, up from $3.10.
Currently these levels are projecting growth rates of 65% and 16%, respectively.
Valuations
Shares of CE are trading at great valuations. One share will cost you about 9 times forward earnings. The growth is also coming at a reasonable price; the PEG ratio is just 0.7 times.
The Chart
The volatility in shares of CE heading into the earnings report has dissipated. After a few sessions of treading water, shares are headed in the right direction and momentum is on their side. Take a look at the chart below.
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