Celanese (NYSE:CE) Trading 8.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) rose 8.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $47.84 and last traded at $48.0590. 156,120 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,133,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Celanese from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho set a $50.00 target price on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 price target on Celanese in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.27.

Celanese Trading Up 8.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of -4.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.57.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 13.04% and a negative net margin of 12.04%.The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Murray bought 2,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 30,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,385,264.64. This trade represents a 7.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Celanese by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Celanese by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Celanese by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Celanese by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Fruth Investment Management grew its holdings in Celanese by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 9,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company develops and manufactures engineered polymers, specialty chemicals and other materials used in a broad range of industries, including automotive, medical, electronics, consumer products, industrial equipment, coatings and packaging.

Celanese operates through two primary businesses: Engineered Materials and the Acetyl Chain. Its engineered materials portfolio includes high-performance thermoplastics, engineered polymers and other specialty compounds used to replace metal and conventional materials in demanding applications.