Celanese (NYSE:CE) Trading Up 9.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)’s stock price shot up 9.7% during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $81.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Celanese traded as high as $56.24 and last traded at $57.0010. 742,560 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,469,374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.94.

CE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Celanese from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Celanese from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Celanese in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.72.

Key Stories Impacting Celanese

Here are the key news stories impacting Celanese this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tudor Pickering upgraded Celanese to a “Buy,” signaling confidence from an energy-focused research house and likely supporting the stock’s rally by attracting buyer interest. Celanese (NYSE:CE) Raised to “Buy” at Tudor Pickering
• Positive Sentiment: Vertical Research also upgraded the stock to “Buy,” adding upward analyst momentum and reinforcing short-term investor demand. Vertical Research Upgrades Celanese (NYSE:CE) to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: 247WallStreet raised a price target to $81, citing the Iran conflict as a catalyst that has boosted demand/pricing dynamics in relevant commodity and chemical markets; that bullish narrative supports upside expectations. Celanese Price Prediction: Iran Conflict Pushes CE Price Target to $81
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks issued a mixed set of model changes — it modestly raised a Q3 2027 quarter estimate but the move is small and contained within broader negative revisions; this particular revision alone is unlikely to materially change near-term fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut multiple near-term and full-year EPS forecasts (Q1–Q2 2026, FY2026, several 2027 quarters) and maintains a “Strong Sell” rating — those downgrades increase downside risk, raise investor caution, and likely weighed on sentiment before upgrades offset some of that pressure. Zacks Research Has Bearish Estimate for Celanese Q3 Earnings

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Celanese by 154.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 19,289 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 208.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 105,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after purchasing an additional 71,238 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 540,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,850,000 after purchasing an additional 6,390 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at $1,501,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in Celanese by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 42,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.22). Celanese had a positive return on equity of 8.75% and a negative net margin of 12.15%.The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.13%.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products serving diverse industries. The company operates through two primary business segments—Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain—offering solutions that range from high-performance polymers and specialty additives to industrial chemicals and intermediates. Its engineered materials are used in applications such as automotive components, consumer electronics, medical devices and packaging, while its acetyl derivatives find uses in coatings, adhesives, solvents and personal care products.

In the Engineered Materials segment, Celanese produces a variety of high-performance thermoplastics, polyether-block-amide (PEBA) elastomers and functional additives designed to enhance product durability, thermal resistance and sustainability.