Celanese Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CE)

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 4,520 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 94% compared to the typical volume of 2,324 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Celanese from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.06.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CE traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.25. 196,378 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,272,170. Celanese has a 12 month low of $35.13 and a 12 month high of $70.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.43. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -4.63, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Celanese has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently -1.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 100.0% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Celanese in the third quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 175.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 350.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

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.