Celanese Corporation CE is benefiting from productivity measures, investments in organic projects and strategic acquisitions. However, it is encountering headwinds like raw material cost inflation and impacts from the ongoing semiconductor shortage.Shares of this leading chemical and specialty materials maker are up 54.5% in the past year compared with 21.3% rise of the industry.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCelanese, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, is benefiting from its productivity actions, investments in high-return organic projects and synergies of acquisitions. The company is also gaining from improving demand in most of its end markets.The company continues to focus on executing productivity programs that include the implementation of a number of cost-reduction capital projects. It achieved gross savings of $214 million from its productivity actions in 2020. Productivity actions are also expected to support margins in 2021.Celanese continues to actively pursue acquisitions, which are providing it opportunities for additional growth, investments and synergies. The acquisitions of SO.F.TER., Nilit and Omni Plastics are expected to contribute to earnings expansion in the company's Engineered Materials segment. The Elotex acquisition also strengthened the company’s position in the vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions space. The buyout is expected to contribute to volumes in the Acetyl Chain segment. The recently-announced purchase of Exxon Mobil's Santoprene Business will broaden the company’s portfolio of engineered solutions.The company continues to generate strong cash flows and is focused on boosting shareholders’ value. It returned $326 million to shareholders through dividend payouts and share repurchases during second-quarter 2021.It completed $500 million in share buybacks in first-half 2021 and expects to repurchase another $500 million in the second half.However, the company faces headwinds from elevated raw material costs partly due to supply constraints witnessed in the last reported quarter. It is likely to face persistent inflation across many key raw materials as well as supply chain costs in third-quarter 2021.Tight availability of resins, including nylon and glass fiber is expected to hike raw material costs in the third quarter. As such, higher input costs are expected to hurt margins.The semiconductor shortage is also making a negative impact on automotive OEM production around the world. Weaker automotive production is likely to affect the company’s automotive order patterns. Celanese Corporation Price and Consensus Celanese Corporation price-consensus-chart | Celanese Corporation Quote Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Nucor Corporation NUE, Dow Inc. DOW and Cabot Corporation CBT.Nucor has a projected earnings growth rate of around 494% for the current year. The company’s shares have soared 163.4% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Dow has an expected earnings growth rate of around 403.01% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained 38.4% in the past year. It currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Cabot has an expected earnings growth rate of around 138.5% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have rallied 43.1% in the past year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it's poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nucor Corporation (NUE): Free Stock Analysis Report Dow Inc. (DOW): Free Stock Analysis Report Celanese Corporation (CE): Free Stock Analysis Report Cabot Corporation (CBT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research